Overwhelmed with campaign text messages? Here’s how to stop them

It’s only a few days until Election Day 2022 – Tuesday, November 8 – and if your phone is exploding with text messages and other communications from political campaigns, you’re not alone. According to the automated call-blocking software company RoboKiller, Americans received 1.3 billion political campaign phone and text messages In October 2022.

Fortunately, there is a solution to political ads bombarding your Facebook feed, mailbox, or text message box. The FCC has a texting system that works similar to reporting spam phone callsAnd it can help prevent political ads from cluttering your phone.

If you’re wondering how the organization got your number in the first place, it’s because All states allow access to voter data For election purposes – so if you’re a registered voterYour information is on file. Here’s how to stop unwanted political messages on your phone.

Forward your text messages to SPAM, then file a complaint

Receive automated texts from political campaigns? You can forward these text messages to SPAM, or 7726. This is one of the best options if the sender seems superficial – the FCC recommends not responding to any questionable sources.

after doing this, File a complaint with the FCC.

Reply to sender

Usually when you receive a political text message, you Can Withdraw. You may see a message in the body such as “Reply to stop or unsubscribe to stop receiving messages.” Before responding, make sure it is a legitimate campaign number and not a scammer. If you reply to a scam, it lets the sender know that your number is active.

You may have to text “stop” multiple times if several members of the political campaign are calling you from different numbers.

Text message filtering

Your smartphone has capabilities that allow you to filter text messages from unknown senders. While this doesn’t stop anonymous senders from texting you, it will hide the messages so you don’t have to see them. Here’s how to filter messages on iPhone and Android phones.

If you are an iPhone user, open a file Settings app and click Messages. From here, scroll down and select Filter unknown senders and drag the setting switch on. This will sort messages from people who are not in your contact list into a separate list.

If you are an Android user, open the Messages app Settings on your phone and select Spam protection. then select Activate spam protection. Note that the steps to get there may vary depending on the Android phone you’re using.

Contact the campaign that writes to you

If all else fails, you can contact the political campaign that is emailing you and ask them to remove you from their list. (Volunteers often text you about campaigns, trying to get you to vote.) They should then remove you from your contact list, but if they don’t, you can report it to the FCC.

For more information about the elections, here How to find your polling site this year. Also, here How to find out if you are registered to vote.