‘Let me in on the secret’ beg iPhone fans after photo teases trick to stop spam texts – three taps turn it on

APPLE fans were shocked to discover a "secret" menu that can save you from spam texts.

The clever feature is part of your iPhone's default Messages app, but it's very easy to miss.

It's called Message Filtering, and it automatically splits your text inbox up into known and unknown senders.

And anything from an unknown sender is automatically silenced, and hidden away in a separate pile that you have to manually check.

A Reddit thread about the overlooked feature earned hundreds of upvotes from amazed iPhone owners.

The featured a photo of the menu in Messages with the caption: "Did Apple just add this screen in Messages or did I just discover it?"

One user wrote: "So how did you discover it? Asking for someone who has never seen that screen before lol."

Another said: "Okay, let me in on the secret. How did you get to it?"

But others pointed out that the feature has been available in iPhone settings for years.

Apple also recommends the feature on its support pages as a way to "reduce the number of unwanted messages you receive".

The iPhone maker notes: "With iMessage, you can prevent unknown senders from texting you directly.

"Their messages are filtered to another folder, and you don’t get notified about them."

SAFE SPACE

Setting up Message Filtering is extremely easy.

Just go into Settings > messages and then scroll down to Message Filtering.

Now toggle the Filter Unknown Senders setting to the on position.

Then go to your Messages app and tap on Filters on the top-left corner – you'll find the button on your conversation list.

Next tap on Unknown Senders to see all of the your messages from people that aren't saved in your contacts.

Note that these notifications will have been silenced, so you'll need to check the folder manually.

The idea is that you leave your inbox on Known Senders, and then check Unknown Senders every so often.

You can change your settings and chosen inbox at any time.