- 2 hours ago
Spam calls, random texts, and junk emails can be shut down with free tools on both Android and iPhone, and this guide walks through the best built-in settings plus the strongest third-party blockers. It covers caller ID and spam protection, Google Messages spam filtering, iPhone silence unknown callers, and ways to keep suspicious texts out of your main inbox.
From there, the video goes deeper into privacy-focused spam blocker apps for phone calls and SMS, including Android options like Spam Blocker and iPhone tools like Simple Call Blocker, Call Ranger, BeGone, and Junkman. It also explains how some apps block number ranges, known robocall databases, repeated callers, international numbers, and even foreign-language spam, while keeping your data on-device when possible.
The final section tackles email spam with CleanFox and SimpleLogin, plus Apple’s Hide My Email for creating disposable addresses that forward to your real inbox. If you want a practical smartphone tutorial for blocking robocalls, scam texts, telemarketing, and email clutter, this is a useful step-by-step cleanup guide.
SEO: Ideal for anyone searching for how to stop spam calls, block spam texts, remove robocalls, filter junk email, and improve smartphone privacy. This Android and iPhone spam blocker guide includes call screening, SMS spam protection, email cleanup, and disposable email tips for long-term inbox control.
From there, the video goes deeper into privacy-focused spam blocker apps for phone calls and SMS, including Android options like Spam Blocker and iPhone tools like Simple Call Blocker, Call Ranger, BeGone, and Junkman. It also explains how some apps block number ranges, known robocall databases, repeated callers, international numbers, and even foreign-language spam, while keeping your data on-device when possible.
The final section tackles email spam with CleanFox and SimpleLogin, plus Apple’s Hide My Email for creating disposable addresses that forward to your real inbox. If you want a practical smartphone tutorial for blocking robocalls, scam texts, telemarketing, and email clutter, this is a useful step-by-step cleanup guide.
SEO: Ideal for anyone searching for how to stop spam calls, block spam texts, remove robocalls, filter junk email, and improve smartphone privacy. This Android and iPhone spam blocker guide includes call screening, SMS spam protection, email cleanup, and disposable email tips for long-term inbox control.
Category
🤖
TechTranscript
00:00If you're constantly getting spam calls, random texts, and even junk emails,
00:04this video is going to save you because I'm going to show you exactly how to shut down
00:08all of that for good with completely free methods, whether you're on Android or iPhone.
00:13And definitely save this video too, because if you ever switch phones or you get a new number,
00:17you're going to want to set this all up again. And while you're at it too,
00:20why not just drop a quick thumbs up if you end up finding this video to be helpful
00:23so that it also helps get pushed to other folks so we can hopefully stop scammers as a whole.
00:29So first, let's tackle those spam calls and texts. I'll start with some basic settings that
00:34you should turn on, but later on in the video, I'll show you my absolute favorite methods
00:38for blocking scams. They're the real heroes. Now, your phone probably already has some
00:43built-in spam protection. For Android, every phone and messaging app is a little different,
00:48but you'll most likely find a setting called spam or caller ID. So make sure to enable those.
00:54If you're using the standard Google phone app, just go into the settings
00:57and make sure caller ID and spam is on. Some phones like the Google Pixels even have this
01:03cool new scam detection feature. You can turn that on and your phone now uses AI to tell you if
01:09someone's trying to scam you while you're on a phone call. It'll basically just pop up with this
01:14giant warning. It's pretty slick. One more thing. If you scroll down in the phone settings to block
01:19numbers, there will also be an option to block all calls from unknown numbers.
01:23That one's great too in some extreme scenarios, like if you're getting absolutely slammed by random
01:29unknown callers or you're just dealing with someone who's cyber bullying you. And for Google Messages,
01:34to help you lower fraudulent text, you can head into the app settings, protection and safety,
01:40and make sure spam protection is enabled. Now for iPhone folks, you've also got built-in spam protection.
01:46Just head into your system settings. For phone calls, you can go into the phone app and in there,
01:52make sure spam is enabled. Plus, if you want, there's even an option called silence unknown callers.
01:58That one will automatically silence any number that isn't saved to your contact. And then from there,
02:03for text messages, you can head into the messages setting and in there, look for filter spam and make
02:08sure that's enabled. That'll separate suspicious texts so they don't clutter up your main inbox.
02:13Now, even with all those built-in features turned on, I mean, it's still not going to be enough to
02:18stop
02:19all the spam. And that's no surprise. A lot of those settings are on by default anyway. So to really
02:24shut down the spammers for good, you're going to want to download a third-party spam blocker app.
02:28There are tons out there too, but I mean, as the app guy, I know which ones actually work best.
02:34First, I'd avoid popular ones like Syncme or Truecaller. They're really well known, but they're not really
02:41great for privacy. They're closed sourced and they're known to upload your entire contact list
02:46and data to their servers. I mean, who knows what they do with that? And they're pretty expensive too.
02:52Instead, I've got some better alternatives that are also privacy focused too. For Android,
02:56the best solution I found is an app called Spam Blocker. It's completely free, open source,
03:01and you can get it from F-Droid. I'll link it below. This thing is super powerful. I mean, it's
03:06honestly just
03:06helped me filter out way more spam than my carrier ever did. And the way it works is pretty simple
03:11too.
03:12It just runs alongside your current phone and messaging apps. So you don't even have to replace
03:17anything. When a call or a text comes in, it checks the number against a set of rules that you've
03:22enabled in the background. And if it fails those rules, it gets blocked silently in the background.
03:27You don't even see it. And don't worry, it doesn't collect any of your personal data and upload it to
03:32a random server. You just enable it for phone calls and texts inside the app. Unfortunately,
03:37it doesn't support RCS messages yet, but I mean, that's fine since most spam still comes through old
03:43school SMS anyway. And then from there, you can start enabling rules that you want any number to go
03:49through before reaching you. The context rule is pretty simple. Anyone in your contacts gets through
03:54instantly, and then everyone else has to pass another test. There's also the stir rule, which is what
04:00carriers use to verify caller IDs. And that's just the start. You can allow repeated calls from the
04:06same number within a short time period, like five minutes, so urgent stuff gets through. If you're
04:12using certain apps like Uber or a food delivery app, it'll automatically allow all calls to reach you
04:18for around five minutes, just in case the driver needs to reach you. Or you can do the opposite and
04:23silence all calls while you're in certain apps like a Zoom meeting or a game. If you want to go
04:28hardcore,
04:29you can even use regex rules to block entire area codes or all international numbers. And there's
04:35a lot more where that comes from. So it's pretty obvious that spam blocker will pretty much stop
04:39about anything. And even better, it'll actually tell you why a number was stopped before reaching
04:46you in the first place. It's pretty fantastic. On iOS, it's a bit trickier. Apple doesn't really give
04:51third-party apps the same deep level system access as Android does, but you still have a good amount of
04:58options. Starting with spam calls, if you want a completely free way to block most of them,
05:02check out Simple Call Blocker. It lets you block entire ranges of numbers for free. Like,
05:08let's say you keep getting spam from this number that's starting with 407-541. You can add a range
05:14from 407-541 and then 000 all the way up to 407-541-9999. And once you hit enter and
05:25save,
05:26boom, all those numbers and those ranges are blocked. So they won't be able to reach you anymore. And
05:31that's pretty great. But there is a catch. It has a limit on how many numbers it can block,
05:35which is around 2 million numbers. And you might hit it if it's blocking huge ranges.
05:40So a great alternative is CallRanger. Now it does cost $5 to download, a one-time fee,
05:47which is better than most spam blocking apps that charge monthly. But it's way more flexible than
05:51before and allows you to block billions of number combinations. You just enter a number pattern,
05:57which in my case, I kept getting spammed by a 407 number. And then it'll show me X for any
06:03digit from 0 to
06:039. And I can literally block any number that has an area code of 407. It's pretty great. Plus,
06:11it even works with SMS too. It allows me to move any text from a 407 number straight to my
06:16spam folder
06:16within the iMessage app. Now, outside of spam blocking apps that just block massive range of numbers,
06:22there are also other types of spam blockers that instead, they just keep a record of the most notorious
06:27numbers that are known to spam people. And then it just blacklists them from your phone. You care,
06:33you might already have an app just like this too. I mean, T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T all offer
06:39free
06:39apps that a lot of people seem to be happy with, and you can just use those to stop spammers.
06:44But if
06:45you're not with one of those big carriers like me, I'm on Mint Mobile, or if you've tried those apps
06:50and you still get spammed, a great community-driven alternative is BeGone. It basically keeps a
06:57constantly updated database of known robocallers, telemarketers, and scammers. And once you
07:03enable it, you should be good to go with all those numbers getting automatically stopped.
07:07The only annoyance is that you will need to pay a monthly subscription for that one,
07:12but they give you a week to try it for free so you can see if it actually works or
07:15not.
07:16Then for spam text on iPhone, there are also a few solid picks for helping you stop them.
07:21If you want a free option, text spam block is a fantastic choice. It basically uses on-device AI to
07:28read an incoming text and to figure out if it's junk. If it is, it automatically files it away in
07:33your spam folder. It's smart enough to spot political messages, fraud, and promotional spam.
07:39And since everything happens on your phone, your messages stay private. It's a pretty great app.
07:44Now, if you want something even more powerful and you don't mind paying a few bucks, go for
07:48Junkman. It's from the same folks who made BeGone. It's also using AI and it basically sorts messages
07:55into categories like normal chats, transactions, and of course, junk, which are promotions,
08:02political stuff, gambling, et cetera. It can even filter spam that's in foreign languages too,
08:07which is great. Plus on top of that, it doesn't stop there. You can block messages that have custom
08:12keywords that you choose. If you keep receiving certain words, you can set schedules too, like
08:17only filtering spam during work hours. And my favorite feature is that there's an under attack mode
08:24that just basically dumps all the messages from unknown senders into spam for a set amount of time.
08:30That's great if you're being bombarded. It's incredibly thorough. Between all of these tools,
08:35you can definitely eliminate almost all spam calls and texts on both Android and iPhone.
08:40And just a reminder too, some of these phones nowadays even have call screening built in,
08:44which is pretty much one of my favorite ways to mess with telemarketers. It uses a virtual
08:49assistant to answer suspicious calls for you and then ask who they are and why they're calling.
08:55It's honestly pretty hilarious to watch. Not all phones have it, but most of the big ones do like
08:59iPhones, Samsungs, and Google pixels. On Android, you'll usually find it in your phone app settings.
09:06And then on iPhone, you can go into the system settings, phone, and you can look for this option
09:11called ask reason for calling. Turning on that will discourage telemarketers from calling you because
09:16I mean, no one wants to talk to a robot. Now, before moving on, I've got a great way of
09:21helping
09:21you keep track of all information that you receive and phone calls, especially within meetings too.
09:27Because man, I feel like I'm in meetings all the time these days, especially with phone companies.
09:32And in these meetings, they just dump everything on me at once. Specs, new features, pricing, timelines,
09:38you name it. Even if I'm scribbling notes, I'm still missing things. So I finally had to stop.
09:43It was just too stressful. What I use now is this card called the Nota Memo, the sponsor of this
09:48video.
09:49It slips into this couch that you can magnetically attach to the back of your phone. And with the
09:53click of a button, it just records everything for you. In-person meetings, virtual calls,
09:58regular phone calls, you name it. And it doesn't even need the internet to record too,
10:03which is pretty great. While it's recording, it's giving you a live transcript of what's being said,
10:08so you can follow along and it can translate what's being said too. Then afterward, it makes the job
10:13even easier by letting you identify the different speakers. It even creates a summary for you.
10:18It separates everything into chapters and it even picks out actions that you need to do.
10:23But here's where it gets really insane. There's this new feature called Nota Brain,
10:27where you can ask any questions that you like about the meeting and even turn them into finished pieces
10:33of work. For example, I had a briefing about a smartwatch that was coming out and I had to generate
10:38an infographic photo that showed me everything that's new in this beautiful format. That way,
10:44I could just post about that right away on social media. It saved me so much time and it was
10:48pretty
10:48great. I've also used it to turn meetings into ready to send emails or even slides when I'm planning a
10:54video or breaking down a product roadmap. It's really amazing. And honestly, it just feels less like
10:59random AI notes and more like having someone do all the follow-up work for me. So, if you're
11:04constantly in meetings, receiving phone calls, you're in lectures, or just any situation where
11:09you need to remember details and you hate writing notes down, the Nota Memo will make your life so
11:14much easier. I'll leave a link down below so you can try it out and let it turn your conversations
11:19into
11:19actual finished work. Okay, now when it comes to email spam, if your inbox is just out of control and
11:25you want to clean it up quickly and easily, I've got some good methods for that too. And it doesn't
11:30matter if you're on a phone, a computer, whatever, the same tricks work everywhere.
11:34The best tool that I've been using to clean up my inbox is this free app called CleanFox.
11:39I've honestly been using it for years. I even first reviewed it five years ago back in 2020,
11:44which is pretty crazy. And it's still my go-to. Here's how it works. You connect your Gmail
11:49and it scans all your emails. Then you can start deleting entire batches of old unread emails,
11:56like you're swiping on Tinder. Swiping left will just delete everything and unsubscribe you.
12:01Swiping right keeps everything. Swiping up deletes it, but keeps you subscribed. And swiping down saves
12:07it for later. It's actually kind of fun to use. And one thing that I really like is that it
12:11shows you
12:12how often you actually open those newsletters so you can quickly decide if they're worth keeping or not.
12:17If you want to move even faster, you can switch to list view and delete multiple newsletters in bulk.
12:22I've deleted thousands of emails and minutes before, and it feels so good when your inbox
12:27finally looks clean. Now, from there, if you want to prevent future spam, the biggest thing you could
12:32do is just stop giving out your real email so freely. You know how shopping sites ask for your email
12:38to
12:38get a discount code or you sign up for something and suddenly you're getting 10 emails a week.
12:43Instead of giving them your real email, you can give them a masked one. On iPhone, Android,
12:48and any desktop really, you can use this app called Simple Login. This app is pretty great
12:53because it lets you generate a random fake email address whenever you need one. So once you create
12:58one by giving it a name and hitting generate, you can give that fake address to any website and any
13:04email
13:04sent to it just get forwarded to your real inbox. And if one day that company just starts spamming you,
13:10you can just flip a switch and deactivate that entire Elias. Done. No more emails.
13:15It's honestly one of the best ways to take control of your inbox. Now, if you're on iPhone,
13:20you literally don't even need a separate app because Apple has that feature built right into
13:24their software. It's called Hide My Email. Basically, whenever you're signing up for something,
13:28you'll see an option pop up that says Hide My Email. And once you do that, it'll generate a random
13:34iCloud address for you that you can use. That address then forwards everything to your real inbox.
13:39And if the site gets annoying later, you can just deactivate it. Super simple.
13:44So between cleaning up all your old emails and using fake email addresses moving forward,
13:49you should pretty much eliminate most of the email spam long term. Anyway, if you want to keep
13:54discovering apps that you probably didn't even know existed, tap this video right here or check out
13:58this one for the latest upload on the channel. If this video helped you out, a quick thumbs up would
14:02mean a lot. Thanks so much for sticking around to the end and I'll catch you guys in the next
14:06one.
14:07Kapow!
14:08Kapow!