Apple’s Messages on iOS 26 deploys two big weapons against phishing spam

Apple’s Messages on iOS 26
Apple’s Messages app in iOS 26 introduces two features to combat phishing spam:
1. Disabled Links: URLs and phone numbers in spam messages are not clickable, reducing the risk of users accidentally visiting malicious sites or calling scam numbers.
2. No Replies: Users cannot respond to messages in the Spam folder, limiting interaction with potential scammers. While messages can be moved to the main inbox, this added step helps prevent accidental phishing engagements.
Marcus Mendes for 9to5Mac:
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The new Messages app splits conversations into a few categories, accessible via the filter button in the top right: Messages, Unknown Senders, Spam, and Recently Deleted.
The ‘Messages’ view includes your regular chats with contacts, as well as things like verification codes and reservation confirmations. Meanwhile, ‘Unknown Senders’ and ‘Spam’ messages won’t trigger notifications.
Users can manually turn on or off filtering for both ‘Unknown Senders’ and ‘Spam’, with each filter controlled separately from the ‘Manage Filtering’ option in the top-right menu.
In the ‘Unknown Senders’ folder, users can choose to “Mark as Known” any conversations from contacts they know and trust. And while Apple notes that messages from unknown senders may be automatically marked as spam, messages in the ‘Spam’ folder can be moved back to the main Messages view, with the option to report the number to Apple as not spam.

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MacDailyNews Take: Locking down messages in the ‘Spam’ folder by disabling links and disallowing replies will go a long way to protect less tech-savvy users!

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