How To: Block Spam Texts with Samsung Messages

With so much of our personal data floating around the web, it's nearly impossible to get away from spam calls, texts, and emails. Unfortunately, this isn't just limited to the online world — filling in your contact information in a raffle ticket with the hope of winning that shiny new car in the mall, for instance, can often result in getting swamped with spam texts containing sketchy loan offers.

To remedy this, Samsung Messages takes an incredibly straightforward approach to handling junk texts from unwanted sources, giving you complete control over who you receive messages from. Beyond that, the app also lets you block people already in your contacts list in the event your relationship turns sour.

Blocking Spam Texts in Samsung Messages

Next time you receive a useless text from a questionable source, just open the message and hit "Block number" on the upper-right. From there, tap "Delete conversation" from the confirmation prompt that appears on the bottom if you'd like to erase the thread entirely, then hit "OK" on the lower-right to block the number from sending you messages moving forward.

If you want to block a contact, on the other hand, open the thread in question, and tap on the three-dot menu button to reveal more options. Now, select "Block contact" from the overlay, then hit "OK" on the confirmation prompt to block that contact for good.

It's worth noting that for group chats containing a person you've blocked, neither you nor that contact will be able to see each other's messages from the moment you block that individual onward, though you'll still be able to read older messages within a group chat that you haven't deleted.

This article was produced during Gadget Hacks' special coverage on texting, instant messaging, calling, and audio/video chatting with your smartphone. Check out the whole Chat series.