Learn how to automatically sort your iPhone messages into Unknown, Transactions, Promotions, and Spam categories to keep the main screen clean, organized, and free of unnecessary texts.
Without message filters and unknown message screening, the iPhone Messages app will put all texts on the first screen/main list. This will include your meaningful conversations, as well as bank alerts, OTP texts, promotional messages, spam, and more. Plus, you’ll get alerts for all texts; message screening and filtering save you from being inundated with unwanted notifications.
After you turn on the screening and filtering options, the main Messages app screen will only show your meaningful friends and family conversations, while everything else will be put away in the following categories/lists:
- Unknown Senders
- Transactions (All Transactions, Finance, Orders, Reminders)
- Promotions
- Spam
Use message screening and filters on iPhone
1) Open the Settings app on your iPhone running the latest version of iOS 26.
2) Scroll down to the bottom and tap Apps.
3) Select Messages from the list of applications.
4) Turn on Screen Unknown Senders. This will put messages from unknown people into their own Unknown Senders category in the Messages app. The rest will show up in the main list.
Secondly, the Screen Unknown Senders will mute and hide notifications for most screened messages. But this also means you’ll miss important alerts from your bank, credit card, one-time codes, and such. Therefore, to address this, tap Allow Notifications and turn on the switch for Time Sensitive, Personal, and Transactions. This will allow incoming messages from these categories to show you a notification and remain in the main Messages app list for 12 hours. After 12 hours, those texts will move automatically to their own categories (Unknown Senders, Transactions, etc.).
5) Next, tap Text Message Filter and select Text Message Filter (which is Apple’s own filtering option). You can also select a third-party message filtering app like Truecaller if you have it installed on your iPhone. Selecting Text Message Filter will put messages in Transactions (All Transactions, Finance, Orders, Reminders) and Promotions lists.
6) And lastly, turn on the switch for Filter Spam to put spam messages in their own list (aptly named Spam).
See all screened and filtered messages on iPhone
1) Open the Messages app on your iPhone.
2) Tap the three lines icon in the top right corner and select Unknown Senders, Transactions (All Transactions, Finance, Orders, Reminders), Promotions, or Spam.
3) Tap the three lines icon again and select Messages to return to the main list.
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