How to Block SMS on Android Phones

Download an anti-SMS application to reduce the unwanted messages you receive. Many Android users criticize "short message service," or SMS, as a source of unwanted spam. Throughout the world, unsolicited SMS has become a sizable annoyance. The amount of these unsolicited texts has increased as a result of mobile communication's continued boom. Yet the improvement in smartphone technology has a bright side: a surge of applications designed to streamline mobile use by blocking specified SMS messages. These applications are simple to use, and you may not have to pay to access them.

Difficulty:Moderately Easy1

Find this free app, which blocks undesired spam, for your Android. Websites such as Android Market and AppBrain make it easily available. To access apps on Android Market, first register your smartphone with the site.

2

Download the application to your phone. Most websites give you two ways to do this: You may download the site's web installer to directly put the app on your phone, or the site will offer a QR code. To use the latter method, open your Android's barcode scanner, then scan the QR with the phone.

3

Click on the application's icon on your Android to open it.

4

Click "Settings;" and enter "1" for the U.S. phone country code. This action will start the app's SMS-blocking capacity.

1

Try Call Blocker, another free application. It bars unwanted calls as well as SMS. Follow Steps 1 to 3 from Section 1 "SMS Blocker by Optinno" above, to start.

2

Press the "Blacklist" button, and add a number that frequently sends you unsought SMS. This action blocks that number from sending additional messages.

3

Click "Privacy Eraser" to delete all messages sent by blacklisted numbers from your phone. This step activates Call Blocker and will stop unwanted SMS.

1

Purchase PrivacyManager for Android, available from Cellularity. This product establishes a profile for the Android phone user, letting you accept or reject SMS messages as they arrive. Instructions for downloading PrivacyManager arrive after you buy it. Open the program, click on "SMS Control," then "Reject SMS from Blocked List." Press "Edit Blacklist," then add the unwanted phone number. Hit "Enter Number" to complete the action.

2

Buy Anti SMS Spam Pro, carried by AppBrain. Follow Steps 2 and 3 for "SMS Block by Optinno" after purchasing the app. It features password protection and around-the-clock tech support for users. However, it can conflict with other applications on your Android that are based on SMS functioning. Instructions for using this program are provided upon purchase.

3

Utilize Extreme Call Blocker Droid, available for purchase from Android Market. The app, with a heavy focus on smartphone user privacy, has recently become compatible with Android 2.3. Follow Steps 2 and 3 for "SMS Blocker by Optinno" to install the app onto your phone. Further instructions are provided exclusively to those who purchase the product.

Photo Credit Thomas Northcut/Photodisc/Getty Images Read Next:

Copyright © 1999-2012 Demand Media, Inc.
Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the eHow Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Ad Choices en-US

View the original article here