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Finding Verification Messages from Unknown Senders on iPhone

Glenn Mertens
  • Updated

In this article, you will learn how to filter messages from unknown senders on an iPhone and where to find these messages afterwards.

 

With Screen Unknown Senders, you can automatically sort messages from numbers you have not previously communicated with into a separate section.

Result: messages from unknown senders are not deleted, but are placed under a separate filter in the Messages app.

 

Enable Screen Unknown Senders

On iOS 26, you can activate this setting directly from the Messages app.

  1. Open the Messages app.
  2. Tap Filters at the top.
  3. Tap Manage Filtering.
  4. Scroll to Unknown Senders.
  5. Turn on Screen Unknown Senders.

You can also find this setting via:

Settings > Apps > Messages > Unknown Senders 

 

View Messages from Unknown Senders

  1. Open Messages.
  2. Tap Filters.
  3. Select Unknown Senders.

Here you will find the conversations that iOS considers to be from an unknown sender.

Note: an unknown sender can also be a legitimate person or service who is not yet in your contacts or with whom you have not previously communicated via Messages.

 

Mark a Sender as Known

If you recognise a sender and want to see future messages again in your regular conversation list:

  1. Open Messages.
  2. Tap Filters > Unknown Senders.
  3. Open the relevant conversation.
  4. Tap Mark as Known.
Result: the conversation will reappear in your normal conversation list, and future messages from this sender will no longer be treated as unknown.

 

Verification Codes and Other Important Messages

When screening unknown senders, you can set it so that you still receive notifications for certain types of important messages.

To do this, go to:

Messages > Filters > Manage Filtering > Allow Notifications 

Depending on your country, region, and iOS configuration, you may be able to allow notifications for time-sensitive messages here, for example.

Important: if you expect a verification code via SMS and do not see it immediately in your regular conversation list, also check Unknown Senders.

 

Still Using iOS 18?

In iOS 18, this feature is called Filter Unknown Senders. In iOS 26, Apple has expanded this feature and renamed it to Screen Unknown Senders.

If Filter Unknown Senders was already enabled on iOS 18, Apple states that Screen Unknown Senders will be automatically enabled when you upgrade to iOS 26.

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