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Text Messages (SMS) are one of the fastest and most widely used methods of communication, so it is not a surprise that it will also be used to spam or harass. If you are not blocking these messages, then most probably you are will currently receiving messages from different numbers offering services, information, etc.

However, you can easily block text messages from any number you want, using more than just one method. If you believe you are okay with receiving few texts everyday, then think again, because you are also paying for them unless you have an unlimited SMS plan.

In this tutorial, we will show you how you can block texts from different numbers using different methods. Not all of the methods will work for you, but if you need help with any method let us know in the comments below.

Method #1: Use Android’s Messaging App to Block Texts

If your phone is running Android Kitkat or above, then your default messaging app must have a spam filter. This is the easiest and fastest way of blocking text messages without any hassle of checking out third-party apps or services.

The process is quite simple, just tap and hold the text message of the sender and after a short delay you will be given the option to either delete the message or add to spam. You will be able to see the both options in a menu or icons of the options will be shown above the screen (depending on your device). Just tap on “Add to Spam” and confirm the prompt to blacklist the number of the sender, so you will never receive messages from them again.

However, if you would need more control and blocking power, then there are more built-in options as well.

To access these options, tap on the menu at the top right corner of the screen (its the three vertical dots) and from there tap on Settings.

In Settings, scroll down and tap on “Spam filter”, make sure the button on the top right corner of the screen is “green” to ensure the feature is “On”. There you will see three different options that will provide more control.

Add to spam numbers

This option will let you add numbers manually or from contacts and logs to block all texts from the specific numbers.

Add to spam phrases

This option will let you specify “Words” that when used in a text will automatically mark it as spam. This is quite handy as spammers usually use common keywords which you can specify to block them. This option might also work good against spammers who use alphanumeric numbers to prevent being marked as spam.

Caution: Be very carefully while adding words to be blocked, as all the messages will be blocked which contain that specific word. If you will block a common word, then most probably important texts from other people will also be marked as spam.

Block Unknown Senders

When this option is checked, you will only receive messages from people who are in your contact list. This is a simple but very risky option as you might miss many important texts from people who you know, but are not in your contact list.

Just use all the above mentioned options to control who can send you a text and who can’t.

Method #2: Use a Dedicated Third-Party App

If the Android’s built-in text blocking service doesn’t work for you, then don’t worry, Google Play Store is loaded with SMS blocking apps. You can easily find an SMS blocking app that fulfills your needs perfectly.

In this tutorial, we are going to use the app SMS Blocker Clean Inbox. The main reason why we have selected this app is because it is very simple to use and comes with all required features to block texts. The app also has a quite good rating on Google Play store scoring 4.5/5, and comes with both Free (Ad supported) and Paid versions. Although Free version works completely fine for blocking Text, but if you are not fan of ads or looking for some extra features, then you can always opt for the paid version.

Note: This is a messaging app and it will replace your default messaging app if you are running Android Kitkat or Above. With the introduction of Kitkat, only a single messaging app is allowed to run at a time. If you will use this app, then your default messaging app will not work. However, you can always open default messaging app and from the prompt tap on “OK” to set it as Default again.

To get started, launch the app and from the prompt tap on “Yes” to make the app as the default app for messaging. Now, you will see all your current messages in the SMS Blocker app just like it was in your default messaging app.

To add numbers to block list, tap on the Menu at the top left corner of the screen and from there tap on “Block list”. In the Block list, there will be three different ways to control text blocking, Sender, Series and Word. You can navigate between options by tapping on them or swiping left or right.

Sender

This option will let you add numbers that you need to add to block list, so they won’t be able to text you. You can just tap on “+” icon and choose the input method to add the number to block list.

Series

With this option you can add specific digits or words, that are common in the name or number of the sender. Like you can add “1800” to block list and whenever a number with “1800” in it will text, it will be blocked. You can specify whether the word or number is at the end or start by adding * (start) respectively. For example, if you would like to block numbers that start with “1800”, then you can add “1800*” to block list to block all numbers that start with “1800”.

Just tap on “+” icon and on the next page enter the “word” or “number”.

Word

This will let you add a specific word, and all text containing that specific word will be blocked. Just like “Add to spam phrases” option mentioned in the above method, you will have to be very careful about adding words as you might end up blocking important messages.

You can tap on “+” icon and on the next page add specific words.

You also have the option to add numbers to “Allow List”, so even if the above mentioned options suspect that the message from the specific number should be blocked, it will not be blocked. This will make sure that the blocking options don’t block any important texts by mistake.

Tap on Menu and from there tap on “Allow list”. The interface is same as “Block list”, you can add number and phrases just like you added in “Block list”, however, these will be “Allowed” instead of “Blocked.

All the blocked messages will be kept safe and you can view any time you like. Just tap on Menu and from there tap on “Blocked messages” to see all the blocked messages.

There is a limit on the total number of messages that can be stored; you can lift the limit by going to the menu and clicking on “Settings” and in there turning off “Delete old messages”.

Method #3: Contact Your Carrier

If both above mentioned methods don’t work for you, then you can also contact your carrier to make them block specific number. This might not be the easiest method, but still, if nothing works then this is an option too.

Your Carrier can easily create a block list, where they will add all the numbers from which you don’t want to receive any Text. However, they might charge you for this service, so do your research properly.

You can just go to the website of your carrier and log in, if you search a bit you will surely find a page where you can block numbers. If you can’t find any page, then just call the help center and they will add the numbers to block list for you.

How To Block Text Messages On Android , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

Galaxy Alpha is the first smartphone from Samsung that touts a metal build. Samsung sort of dipped its toe in the water with this device before it launched the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge as both have full metal builds. Galaxy Alpha owners should take note, Samsung has started releasing the Android 5.0 Lollipop update for this handset.

Initially three major carriers in Samsung’s home base of South Korea have released Android 5.0 Lollipop for the Galaxy Alpha. Folks who own this device in South Korea can get the update over-the-air as well as through Samsung’s Kies desktop software.

This also goes to show that Samsung will soon start releasing the Lollipop update for Galaxy Alpha in other markets across the globe. Yes carriers’ release timeframes will come into play in several markets since they tend to hold up releases due to their own certification processes.

Nevertheless it shouldn’t take terribly long for the Lollipop update to reach majority of the Galaxy Alpha owners across the globe. Samsung clearly has got the ball rolling and at least the update will arrive in time for those who own factory unlocked or “international” models of this device.

As many of you have come to expect by now, the Lollipop update brings new features for the device, aside from overhauled user interface and performance enhancements.

Lollipop Update Rolling Out Now For Samsung Galaxy Alpha , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

When MORE Magazine’s Deputy Editor Didi Gluck stopped by Mondays with Marlo, she was given a compliment by viewer Brooke, who asked how Didi stays looking flawless and what her own personal beauty regiment consists of. Didi’s secret is simple and one that everyone can follow: cleanse your face twice a day, moisturize in the evening, and don’t forget to remove your makeup, especially your eye makeup, before sleeping. For more of Didi’s tips on health and beauty, watch our entire interview and don’t forget to submit your questions on Facebook and Twitter to be featured on Mondays with Marlo!

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Spring is here and with summer right around the corner, Didi Gluck, Deputy Editor of MORE Magazine, stopped by Mondays with Marlo to discuss the best colors that pair well the season. Didi suggests bright hues in shades of purple and yellow, on par with spring flowers like lilac or daffodil. For more of Didi’s tips on health and beauty, watch our entire interview and don’t forget to submit your questions on Facebook and Twitter to be featured on Mondays with Marlo!

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BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo’s chronically struggling school system is considering an idea gaining momentum in other cities: public boarding schools that put round-the-clock attention on students and away from such daunting problems as poverty, troubled homes and truancy.

Supporters say such a dramatic step is necessary to get some students into an atmosphere that promotes learning, and worth the costs, estimated at $20,000 to $25,000 per student per year.

“We have teachers and union leaders telling us, ‘The problem is with the homes; these kids are in dysfunctional homes,'” said Buffalo school board member Carl Paladino.

He envisions a charter boarding school in Buffalo where students as young as first or second grade would be assured proper meals, uniforms, after-school tutoring and activities.

It’s one of a pair of boarding school proposals that have been floated in the city, where only 53 percent of students graduate in four years, English and math proficiency hover 20 points below the state average, and a majority of public schools are considered by the state to be failing. Around 80 percent of students meet federal guidelines for free and reduced lunch.

“We are not hitting various measures set by the state or ourselves,” said Tanika Shedrick, a former charter school dean who is trying to open the state’s first public boarding high school in Buffalo. “Our students are leaving school not prepared for college.”

Her charter Buffalo Institute of Growth would supplement a college-style academic schedule with life skills and social activities that would keep students on campus seven days a week, with the goal of sending 100 percent of graduates to college or a vocational program.

“We want to make sure we’re there every step of the way,” said Shedrick, who plans to submit a charter school application to the state this year. She estimates the per-student cost at $20,000 to $25,000 per year, to be paid for with public funding and fundraising. New York’s traditional charter school allocation is about $12,000 per student.

Both proposals in Buffalo would be subject to state approval.

About 115,000 students board at private schools in the United States, federal statistics show, in a tradition that predates the Revolutionary War, but the idea of public boarding schools is relatively new.

The Washington, D.C.-based SEED Foundation opened its first public boarding school for poor and academically at-risk students in 1998 and followed up with a school in Baltimore in 2008 and Miami in 2014. A fourth school is in the works in Ohio at the request of the state’s Department of Education. The model, in which students in grades six through 12 return home for weekends, required changes in state laws.

The idea has been discussed in cities including Detroit and Niagara Falls, as well. Advocates say the high price is the biggest obstacle.

“Even I have to admit, in the short run it’s expensive,” SEED Foundation co-founder Eric Adler said. “That’s an argument for not doing it. I don’t think it’s a good argument, but it’s a valid argument.”

Adler continued: “Not every child needs this, but there are many who do, and without it, they wouldn’t have much of a shot.”

Tasha Poulson found SEED and its 90-plus percent graduation rate while researching schools after seeing her daughter, who had excelled in elementary school, begin to lose ground upon entering one of Washington’s public middle schools.

“It was horrible,” Poulson said. “I knew that I had to get her out of that school, and there wasn’t another school that I saw as a fit for my daughter.” But she hesitated at the thought of her sixth-grader living away from home.

In the end, Poulson decided it would give her daughter the independence and confidence she would need to go to college. She visits frequently and also attends events such as poetry nights that welcome parents. Her daughter is headed for North Carolina Central University next year, and a niece and son now attend the SEED school as well.

A Buffalo Board of Education committee is looking at Paladino’s proposal to explore a SEED school.

While SEED’s Adler acknowledged the annual per-pupil cost is high in the short term, he said it pays off with successful, taxpaying citizens down the line.

A study of SEED published in the Journal of Labor Economics last year found that changing both a student’s social and educational environment through boarding significantly raised student achievement in math and English.

Paladino has proposed asking the state to fund a Buffalo boarding school as a kind of pilot project.

“Next year, we’ll take in another 6,000 kids to our traditional public schools,” Paladino said. “Eighty percent of those kids are condemned to a school opportunity that will not teach them. It will just put them on the streets at some point.”

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