Google Messages has a new STOP button to block spam. It allows you to quickly unsubscribe from a commercial RCS discussion permanently. This should save us a lot of inconvenience!
Despite all the tools put in place, spam continues to ruin our lives, making our smartphone ring all the time for nothing. Not to mention that they transmit a whole bunch of scams, with corrupted links and premium rate numbers. Impossible to get rid of completely! Worse still, some users of Google Messages, installed as standard on most Android smartphones, have noticed an increase in unwanted messages received on the application since compatibility with the RCS protocol.
However, instant messaging does its best to protect its users. It already blocks the opening of suspicious links by opening a pop-up warning window, to prevent them from downloading suspicious files or entering their personal information in fake pages. Recently, it deployed five new protection measures to combat scams, spam and dangerous links (see our article). This does not mean that she is resting on her laurels. Our colleagues atAndroid Authority have thus discovered, in the APK of beta version 20241125_04 of the application, a function under development. This will allow you to quickly unsubscribe from an RCS Business chat to block spam.
Google Messages: a STOP button to stop receiving spam
The function is ready to use, you just need to activate it manually. It takes the form of a “Stop” button which appears directly in the conversation and which allows you to automatically unsubscribe from a RCS Business Messaging mailing list, the system used by companies to communicate with their customers.
By pressing the button, a STOP message is sent in the discussion to indicate that you no longer wish to receive this type of message. The user then receives a message informing them that they have been unsubscribed from notifications. If he wants to back out, just go to the chat and send START. This should save time and avoid repeated reports or blocking.
In truth, it is more of an improvement to an already existing function than a real novelty. Indeed, it was already possible to send STOP manually to stop sending spam, but a large number of users were simply not aware of this. Instead, they blocked and reported the post in question. In addition, the function was linked to the device and not to the telephone number, so that the operation had to be started again each time you changed your smartphone. With the new option, the process will therefore be faster and, above all, more visible thanks to the button.