Android does a solid job of managing spam SMS messages, but you might need to do a couple of things manually. First, you’ll want to delete those unwanted spam messages. With all the spam that fills our inboxes, those messages can pile up fast. You definitely don’t want your device cluttered with blocked spam.
The second action is adding blocked numbers. Android catches a lot of spam numbers, but it’s not perfect. So, you may still find some that slip through. Let’s go over how to delete spam messages and add new numbers to the blocked list.
To get started, you need an Android device, ideally running at least Android 10—or better yet, Android 11. If you haven’t received any spam messages yet, consider yourself lucky, but keep this info handy for when the inevitable spam floods in.
Deleting SMS spam
To delete those spam messages, open the Messages app. From the main screen, tap the menu button and select ‘Spam & blocked.’ Here’s where all your spam messages are stored.
Now, to delete them, you have to manually select each message. Unfortunately, there isn’t a select-all option—Google should really consider this! Long-press one message to start the selection, and then you can tap each additional message you want to delete. After you’ve selected them, hit the trash can icon in the top right corner.
Once you tap the trash can, confirm the deletion by selecting Delete, and those pesky messages will disappear from your Spam & blocked folder.
Adding a phone number to Spam & Blocked
Next, let’s add a number to the Spam & Blocked list. Still in that Spam & blocked window, tap the menu button and select Blocked Contacts. Then tap Add a Number.
Just type in the number you want to block and tap Block. That’s it! You’ve successfully added a new number to your blocked list, and you won’t have to deal with SMS messages from that number again.
That’s all there is to it!
