If you use iMessage, it’s possible to receive junk messages due to the fact that spammers only need the email address associated with your Apple ID. You’ve always been able to report spam messages to Apple by sending an email containing a screenshot of the spam, the phone number or email address of the spammer, and the date and time it was sent. But let’s face it, most of us probably didn’t bother reporting the spam or going through that much trouble to do so. With iOS 7, Apple added the ability to block numbers, which helped to some extent. Now with today’s update of iOS 8.3, however, the process of reporting spam received through iMessage has become even easier. iOS 8.3 also added the ability to organize messages between Unknown Senders and senders already in your contacts.
To set up organizing your Messages, first open up Settings and then select Messages.
Scroll down and turn on “Filter Unknown Senders.” By turning this on you will have two subsections in the Messages app: Contacts & SMS and Unknown Senders.
Within the Messages app you should now see two different sections: Contacts & SMS and Unknown Senders.
If you tap on Unknown Senders, you will see the people who have sent you iMessages and are not in your Contacts.
From there, you are easily to report that iMessage as junk by pressing the blue “Report Junk” button at the bottom of the message.
Sometimes, however, you get junk SMS messages. To tell whether a message is an SMS or iMessage, look at the top of the thread for either a “Text Message” or “iMessage” label.
Apple directs you to this page for reporting SMS spam. The page asks you to contact your carrier regarding the junk messages. Another way to help prevent getting SMS junk texts is to block that number.
Hopefully these tips and tricks will help you avoid getting junk text messages and junk iMessages.
Filed under: How-To Tagged: how to, iMessage, iMessage spam, iOS 8, messages, spam 
For more news on iOS 8, How-To, and how to continue reading at 9to5Mac.
What do you think? Discuss “iOS 8.3 How-to: Report iMessages as junk” with our community.