Google's fix for widespread SMS & RCS spam in Messages app now rolling out to widely

We’ve all been there. Our phone buzzes, and instead of a message from a friend, it’s another unwanted promotion or alert from a business we barely remember interacting with. Text message spam has become a real nuisance, cluttering our inboxes and demanding our attention for things we just don’t care about. It feels like an endless tide sometimes.

Well, Google is now rolling out a built-in solution within its Messages app designed to help users finally ditch those annoying commercial texts and RCS chats. This new feature is a much-welcomed addition to Google Messages and is now appearing in the app widely, as first spotted by 9to5Google.

This helpful addition gives you a clear ‘Unsubscribe’ option right there in the conversation thread. Sometimes it pops up just above where you type your message. Other times, you might find it tucked away in the chat’s menu. Tapping it is meant to signal to the sender that you no longer want to receive their non-essential messages, like marketing blasts or promotions.

When you hit that button, the app typically asks you why you’re unsubscribing. You get choices like ‘Not signed up,’ ‘Too many messages,’ ‘Spam,’ ‘No longer interested’, and ‘Other’. If you pick ‘Spam,’ there’s even an option to report the sender. If you pick ‘Other,’ then you can list out your specific reasons to stop the spam texts.

Once you pick your reason and continue, Google Messages sends the universal ‘STOP’ command from your number to the sender. The idea is that this tells the business or organization to remove you from their mailing list for those types of messages.

This new unsubscribe capability applies to RCS messages from businesses in several countries including the United States, UK, France, Germany, India, Brazil, Mexico, and Spain. For folks in the US, it also works with regular SMS or MMS texts coming from short codes or alphanumeric senders. Google also clarifies that even after unsubscribing, you might still get essential messages, things like one-time passcodes or delivery notifications you specifically requested. And yes, if you change your mind later, you can usually find an option to resubscribe.

I’ve personally seen this feature pop up on my Pixel 8 and an Infinix GT 20 Pro. Both phones were running the latest beta version of Google Messages. However, other reports indicate it’s showing up on the current stable release too, suggesting a broader rollout is underway. There were reports about this feature appearing for some users last month, but it definitely feels like it’s becoming much more widely available now. It’s a small change, but one that could make a big difference in taming the flood of unwanted texts.