How to Filter Unknown Senders in Messages iPhone 14

This post will walk you through activating a privacy feature in the iOS 16 Messages app that filters messages from unknown numbers. Here’s a quick guide to filter unknown senders in Messages on the Apple iPhone 14 series.

Estimate Cost : 0

Time Needed : 3 minutes

The iOS 16 Messages app has a dedicated feature that you can use to block, filter and report unwanted messages from specific contacts or unknown senders. You can also report spam or scam messages to Apple so that the sender will be tagged as scam and be blocked by the system. 

In order to make use of this feature, you will need to enable it first on the iOS Messages app settings menu on your device. And here’s how it’s done on the Apple iPhone 14 smartphone.

  1. To begin, launch the iOS Settings app by tapping on the Settings/Gear icon from the Home screen of your iPhone.

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    Alternatively, you can swipe right from Home to access the App library and launch the Settings app shortcut from there.

  2. Once you’re in the Settings menu, scroll to find Messages then tap on it to access the Messages app settings menu.

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    On the succeeding window, you will see a list of features relevant to the iOS 16 Messages app functions.

  3. Navigate to the Message Filtering section then tap Filter Unknown Senders switch ON. When the switch becomes highlighted, the feature is enabled and active in the system.

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    By then, your iPhone’s Messages app will automatically filter messages and segregate or sort the ones that come from people who are not saved in your contacts list into a separate folder/directory.

Tools
  • Settings
Materials
  • Apple iPhone 14

Keeping this feature enabled is highly recommended if you keep getting messages from unknown numbers including those that are randomly sent by telemarketers, spammers and scammers.

If you want to stop getting messages from a specific phone number or contact, then you can use the inbuilt blocking feature of the Messages app on your iPhone instead. All you have to do is add the phone number to your existing block list so that you will no longer receive any message from that number.

Aside from messages, you also won’t be able to open links that are embedded from an unknown sender’s texts. Only messages from people who are in your contacts will then become visible on your device. 

To lift these restrictions, you can add the sender to your contacts or reply to any of the messages sent from that number.

And that’s all about filtering unknown senders in Messages on the Apple iPhone 14 smartphone.

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