Kids and their phones: every parent knows how complicated these relationships might be. Whenever your child gets way too involved in his mobile device, let it be a phone, tablet, or even computer, you feel a little worried, right? And while there are some basic means for keeping an eye on a family computer (like moving it away from a kid’s room to a more ‘public’ place in your home), a phone tends to have more independence.
Why Consider Blocking Unwanted Texts?
Pity but true – today’s Internet security is as important as offline security. And due to a number of reasons, your kid’s security might be susceptible. Most of the time, your kid would type in his or her phone number to access an app or to create an account on a website. If the latter takes place at an untrusted website, his or her phone number can easily get to fraudsters. This might lead to numerous spam messages.
Messages from online predators and molesters are another type of unwanted message you should take care of. Together with monitoring the type of information kids are telling others online, you should ensure the following. Online predators who meet your kid online might want to make their acquaintance more ‘personal’. It is usually done through calling and messaging. If you want to protect your kid and the whole family from possible risks, keep an eye on their phone contacts and block unwanted ones.
How to Block Texts (On Any Phone)
You may wonder, ‘is there a way to block text messages?’ There are several things you can do to prevent any unwanted messages from appearing on any phone screen (both a smartphone and a regular device). You might use one of them or mix some into a more powerful combination just to be sure no one will pass through.
Call carriers support or use their online controls
Most carriers provide an option for blocking text messages. Depending on what type they do have (or which one you prefer), a call carrier supports or logs in to your online account profile. These both would allow you to block specific phone numbers from sending SMS to your or your kid’s phone.
Note: This type of blocking is temporal. Be sure to come back every couple of months to continue text blocking.
iOS messages blocking
Here you have several options to try:
- Your basic Messages app can be used to block a sender you do not want to text with. If one of his or her texts is still in your phone history, you can ‘Block this caller.
- Settings allow blocking as well – in the ‘Phone’ parameter, and you can choose the ‘Blocked’ category and add any user you want to keep away.
- Additional apps. If we are talking about a kid’s phone that you already use a monitoring app for, use it. Most of them allow you to add an unwanted user to a blacklist. If you are not using a monitoring app, try installing a specific text-blocking app to do the trick for you.
Android messages blocking
In fact, it is not drastically different from the steps for iOS users. Here is what you can do:
- Block messages inbox. In order to ‘register as a spam number,’ you should highlight an unwanted text for a couple of seconds and select this option in a popup menu. All the following texts from this number will not get to the phone.
- Use phone functions. Be attentive – there is no separate message blocking here. The option goes from ‘call rejection’, and you can create a whole list of phone numbers that would be auto-rejected whenever they call you or send messages.
- Additional apps. Google Play has a huge selection of apps for blocking text messages, but a few of them are really effective. SMS Blocker is a good app to block any text together with SMS and Call Blocker Plugin – be sure to try them someday.
When it comes to phone security, having a chance to limit the number of unwanted texts is essential for feeling safe and sound. If you are looking for information on how to stop unwanted texts, you should consider a reliable mobile monitoring app.
