You would think that spammers would have already given up on sending numerous SMS but it’s still a problem that’s very much prevalent, especially in countries where SMS is still king. It looks like Google wants to help you out in dealing with annoying messages like this. The Automatic Spam Detection for Android Messages might be going live soon, if a teardown of the APK of the latest update is to be believed. In the meantime, version 3.6 with the new search features is already starting to roll out.
Right now, you can actually block spam messages and the numbers that send them. You will have to receive a message first though, and in the contact’s details, tap the “Block & Report spam” option. But a couple of months ago, there was a hint that automatic spam detection will be part of a future update. There is also now a support page for the feature so this is as good as confirmed that it will be going live soon.
How it works is that you’ll receive a suspected spam warning in the Android Messages app. If you agree that it’s spam, you’ll tap on “Report spam” but if it was mistakenly flagged, you will have to choose “Report not spam” so Google can correct it. The spam report will include a copy of up to 10 of the messages from the number. If your carrier supports spam reporting, they will also be able to get a copy of the last message from the number.
The spammer will also not see or know that you reported them, to protect your privacy of course. Google will include the messages in the report but not your responses if ever you responded. If you don’t want to send a spam report, you can also just go ahead and block a phone number that has been sending unsolicited messages.
As to when automatic spam detection will go live for Android Messages, that remains to be seen. For now, version 3.6 will be bringing the new search features which lets you look for specific kinds of media and from a specific contact within the app.
VIA: XDA Developers
