How to Stop Political Text Messages

With every election season comes an influx of political text messages. These messages can be annoying and intrusive, especially if you receive them frequently. If you're tired of being bombarded with political texts, there are a few things you can do to stop them.

The first and most obvious step is to opt out of receiving messages by replying "STOP". According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), any legitimate campaign is supposed to honor opt-out requests. However, some people have reported that opting out doesn't always work. If you continue to receive messages after opting out, you can try blocking the sender.

Once you've opted out of receiving messages, block the number it was sent from. Most smartphones have spam filters built into them that can help you manage unwanted messages.

Go to Settings > Messages.

Toggle on "Filter Unknown Senders". This will send messages from unknown numbers to a separate inbox.

Open your messaging app.

Tap the three dots in the upper right-hand corner.

Select Settings > Spam protection.

Enable spam protection.

Political campaign text messages are exempt from the "Do Not Call" list, but they are still required to honor the "STOP" opt-out function. If a political robo-text does not comply with that, you can forward the text you did not want to 7726 ("SPAM"). You can also file an informal complaint at fcc.gov/complaints.

By following these steps, you can reduce the number of political text messages you receive and regain control over your inbox.