Cannot Block Phrases on Samsung S8

[axel]

I am being pestered by spam text messages that do not have a phone number. On my old S4 I could block phrases to stop them, and I have seen numerous posts online that you can also do this with the S8, but on my phone I do not have this option. When I go to message settings the options are "Block numbers" or "Blocked messages". When I select "Block Numbers" there is no option to enter letters and when I select "Blocked messages" it just says no blocked messages. I have Android 9 and the message app version is 10.0.21.65 The software appear to be updated every few weeks and is right up to date.

Any help would be appreciated as I do not want to start looking at third party message apps.

 

[Big Elf]

No choice but to look for 3rd party software. Samsung withdrew this option a while ago claiming that it 'occasionally got it wrong' or similar. For me it was the most effective anti spam tool for Messages available.

I've now tried out a few alternatives and despite it looking crap with no dark mode option and unintuitive the AntiNuisance Call Blocker is proving to be the best substitute. Ignore the baby interface, it does work.

I did try Calls Blacklist and Calls Blacklist Pro which has a better interface and does allow word/phrase blocking unfortunately on my Note 8, despite whatever notification settings I tried, would rarely give a notification for any message so that you had to check it regularly for genuine messages. It might work with other phones though and would normally have been my first choice.

I didn't realise until it had gone how much I relied on the Samsung method of phrase blocking.

My Play Store Review of Calls Blacklist Pro:

'It does 'block' spam messages and it does block messages that contain a specified phrase. However the novel way it does this...by not notifying you of any messages at all means it only gets 1 star. If you check it every day you'll find your genuine messages but obviously can't be relied on if you get any important messages. I've made sure the Notification is set, that it's specifically not being optimised (Android 9) but still no notifications any message spam or no spam. Still looking for a reliable phrase as well as spam blocker. I'm a bit annoyed I paid for this now.'

Review of AntiNuisance:

'I'm only using this for the phrase blocking options in SMS Messages. This works, however a permanent notification is normally visible at all times (Android 9) unless you use the AutoNotification App to block it. Also the default is to notify of every message blocked fortunately though, this can be switched off in the mainly unintuitive settings. Unfortunately the App design and interface doesn't follow any normal convention except that in the Developers own minds and they certainly have weird minds. In addition there's no option for dark mode so you're stuck with the stock nursery theme. I don't normally subscribe to Apps and I'm not going to subscribe to this one despite its apparent effectiveness unless I see major changes to the look and feel in the next couple of months. The App is certainly a lot different from the version supplied through the Samsung Galaxy Store but it's still miles away from a decent looking and functioning App.'

 

[axel]

Thank for the reply. I have switched to Textra which appears to blacklist any message you select whether or not there is phone number displayed.

 

[Big Elf]

I use them not only to block phrases from spam messages but also those from genuine senders but who send annoying messages e.g. E.on who despite being told to stop persist in send me messages on a regular basis to switch to a smart meter so blocking the phrase 'smart meter' is enough to stop them.

 

[That Jekka Gal]

On my old S4 I could block phrases to stop them

Hmm.......inneresting.

So you used to be able to do it but now there's option to turn off the propaganda from govt and aggressive marketing from big business.

Sounds about right, thanks Google.