SMS spam is a big problem in South Africa. You have no idea what you have signed up for or who has your details. All you know is that when you get a message and it isn’t from the bank, it is usually spam. Unlike emails or IM notifications, when you get an SMS you check it immediately. You might not reply STOP to opt out or take up the offer to get R1 000 000 for free, but you will still read it.
If email spam is your problem, then unroll.me is your answer. This program will let you know what you have subscribed to, and you can unsubscribe from within the app. But what about SMS?
What: Truemessenger, an app that allows you to mark an SMS as spam or add it to your contacts. This is an app that stops SMS spam.
Why: Senders already have profiles on Truemessenger, so the app will immediately know if the SMS is spam or not. Known spammers will be blocked automatically, but you can go in and add these messages to your inbox.
Where: Android, iOS & Blackberry
Awesome: you get less spam.
Not so awesome:
- you need to make it your default messenger app (SMS) but not really an issue when you consider what it does.
- Important SMSes from the bank were labelled as spam, because Jaco Venter from the bank was sending the message. This is when I realised that those responsible for sending out the SMS probably each had their own accounts. So you might have to check your spam folder a few times.
I’ve been using this app for little over a week and it has really streamlined my SMS inbox. I used to get a ridiculous amount of messages, would actually read them, get annoyed and then delete them. Truemessenger really works.
Fun Fact: the same people that brought you Truecaller and Truedialer, are responsible for Truemessenger.
