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How to Block Someone on iMessage (With Photos)

Updated: September 1, 2023 by Cassandra McBride | Leave a comment

Sometimes the iMessage alert notification brings us a sigh of relief. An old friend confirming a lunch date or your boss telling you they received a final project, those are good iMessages. But others are more bothersome. If spammers got a hold of your phone number or an old foe isn’t being kind, you can get a bit of peace when you learn to block people on iMessage.

Apple designed iMessage to bring people together, but sometimes we need a little distance. When you block a contact’s phone number on your iPhone, they can’t reach you via phone calls or using iMessage.

We’ve outlined the steps below to block people on iMessage, but we also included some helpful tips along the way.

How to Block Someone on iMessage – iOS

iOS devices consist of iPads, iPod Touches, and iPhones. Most of us use those more than our Macs, so we’ll cover the steps to block someone from contacting you with iMessage first.

Fortunately, you don’t have to add the bothersome person to your contacts. The only thing you need to block someone is their phone number.

Note: We’re using our iPhone, but the steps for an iPod and iPad are identical.

Step 1: Open the Messaging App

You can block people from sending you iMessages in the iOS messaging app. Usually, we can find the app at the bottom of the home screen. But, if it isn’t there initially, go to the App Library and tap the chat app icon.

How to Block Someone on iMessage — *Open the Messaging App*
©History-Computer.com

Step 2: Navigate to the Conversation

Open the conversation where you can find the person’s phone number you want to block.

Step 3: Tap the Contact Card

When you open the conversation, you can see the contact’s profile icon at the top. Tap the contact card at the top of the iMessage conversation.

Helpful Hint: If there is more than one person in the conversation, tap the profile icons at the top.

Step 4: Tap Info

When you’re blocking a contact in a one-on-one iMessage, you need to tap the Info button to move forward. The button is on the right side under the person’s contact.

Helpful Hint: If the offender is part of a group iMessage, skip this step and proceed to step 5.

Step 5: Block the Caller

Although technically, we’re blocking a texter, the option you’ll see is Block this caller. Tap it to cease all communications from the offending individual.

Step 6: Confirm

A little pop-up window appears after tapping to block the caller. Confirm that you’re ready to quit communication with the person by tapping the Block Contact option.

Now that you’ve followed these steps, you can block anyone you want on iMessage. However, if you’d like to follow a tutorial video instead for this process, we found the perfect video on YouTube that you can watch.

How to Block Someone on iMessage on a Mac

If you’re an Apple fan, you already know that all your iMessage devices talk to one another. While the steps above will block someone on iMessage for all your devices, we’ll show you how to block someone on iMessage on a Mac in this section.

Step 1: Open the Message App

Your Mac has an iMessage app, just like any iOS device. The app will appear in your Mac’s dock at the bottom of the screen or in the Launchpad.

Step 2: Click the Conversation

When you open Mac iMessages, you’ll see all the conversations connected to your iCloud account. Click on the one from the user you want to block.

Step 3: Click Conversation

There’s a menu at the very top of your Mac’s screen. You’ll see Messages, File, Edit, etc. Click the Conversation option.

Step 4: Click to Block

A dropdown menu appears, and you can click Block Person.

Step 5: Confirm

After clicking Block in the dropdown menu, a small pop-up window will ask you to confirm you want to block someone on iMessage. Click Block in the small window to confirm.

How to Filter Unknown Senders to Block iMessages

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could block entire area codes or successfully block all unknown senders? Unfortunately, the Apple developers have yet to give us the option to block spammers from sending us iMessages.

But, we did get a useful Filter Unkown Senders option. Rather than blocking problematic numbers, we can filter them out so they don’t appear with the rest of our iMessages. Here’s how you can do it:

Step 1: Open Settings

Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

Step 2: Tap Messages

Scroll down the Settings a bit and tap on Messages.

Step 3: Filter Unknown Senders

Tap the toggle switch to the right of Unknown Senders.

Step 4: Open the Message App

Now, we can filter our texts in the Message app on your iOS device. Open the messaging app on your iPhone.

Step 5: Tap Filter

After enabling the function in Settings, you’ll see a Filter option in the top left corner of the list. Tap Filter to access the message filters.

Step 6: Tap Known Senders

A list will appear of options you can choose from. Tap the Known Senders option to see only iMessages from your contacts.

Helpful Hint: You can follow these steps to see all your iMessages by tapping All at the top of the menu.

Someone is Blocked on iMessage

At one time, we just had to deal with the constant pings of incoming messages from unknown and annoying phone numbers. Our cell phone carriers couldn’t block numbers from texting us, and the phone manufacturers didn’t offer the feature.

Fortunately, we can now block anyone we like right from our phones, tablets, and computers. Just follow the steps above to quiet that annoying contact!

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I send someone a message after I block them?

No. Blocking people goes both ways. If you want to message someone on iMessage, you’ll need to unblock them first.

How can I stop getting so many spam messages?

As the adage goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” One of the main reasons we receive so many spam messages is that we give out our phone numbers to people who then sell them. To curb the number of spam messages you receive, avoid giving your phone number to stores for rewards points, to websites, and to other unnecessary businesses.

I keep blocking numbers but new spam numbers get through. What can I do?

Unfortunately, there’s no way to block spam iMessages completely. The only course of action we have is to filter messages from unknown senders (following the steps above).

Even if you block a spam message, the sender can easily use a new phone number, so filter your messages to avoid the overwhelming amount of texts you receive.

How do I unblock someone on iMessage?

If you decide to unblock someone on iMessage, you can do so in the iPhone’s settings. Tap Phone, then tap Blocked Contacts. Tap Edit at the top and the red minus sign to the left of the contact.

Will the person know I blocked them?

Apple doesn’t send any alerts to the other person that you blocked them in iMessage. But there are ways they can figure it out. They can call your phone number, for example. Your phone will act like the number was disconnected when it doesn’t ring. If they try to call from another phone number, it will go through, and they’ll know you blocked their number.