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How to Block Unwanted Emails, Phone Calls, and Messages in iOS 13

How to Block Unwanted Emails, Phone Calls, and Messages in iOS 13
Credit: dmontessi - Shutterstock

Is your iPhone getting blown up with spammy messages? Then you should probably update to iOS 13 if you haven’t already. iOS 13 includes a couple of new tools for blocking junk emails and robocalls, and carries over the iMessage blocking options from iOS 12. These make it easy to filter out unwanted messages at the source—whether from specific contacts or en masse. Even better, any numbers or email addresses you block from an iPhone will be blocked on your other Apple devices as well. Here’s how:

Blocking unwanted email

  1. First, you can block specific contacts from the iOS Mail app by opening a message and tapping the sender’s email address. Tap “Block This Contact” button.

  2. Next, go to Settings > Mail and turn on “Ignore Blocked Senders.”

  3. You can also go to Settings > Mail > Blocked to add to/manage your list of blocked contacts.

Blocking unknown callers

Go to Settings > phone and turn on “Silence Unknown Callers.” This disables ringing and notifications for calls from unknown numbers which should cut down on spam and robocalls, but be aware this could also block important calls from numbers you don’t have saved. It would be smart to turn this off if you’re expecting an important phone call from a number you don’t know or don’t have saved.

Blocking iMessage contacts

While you’ve technically been able to block contacts in iMessage since iOS 12, the method for blocking is quite similar to blocking email addresses and phone numbers. Under Settings > Messages, turn on “Filter unknown senders.” Just be mindful that this will prevent you from seeing messages from all unknown senders, much like when blocking unknown numbers, so be careful about when you have this setting enabled, and be sure to check your folder of filtered messages if you’re expecting to hear from someone.