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How To Block Numbers On Android (From Calling & Texting You)

Several years ago (before the era of Android and smartphones) you couldn't do much to stop your stalker from calling or texting you.

You either had to kindly ask them to stop (which rarely helped) or you had to change your phone number (which is always a bit problematic). 

You don't need to worry about any of that any more. All you need to do now is change a few settings in your Android phone or use a blocker app and all the unwanted calls or messages will stop. 

In this guide I will show you how to block a number (or numbers) on Android in a few simple and quick ways. 

This tutorial will be ideal for less advanced but ambitious users who want to learn more about their devices and become even more aware and smart users of Android.  

There are really a lot of different ways in which you can block numbers on an Android phone. You can either use the built-in feature of blocking numbers (most Android phones have it) or use one of many blocker apps (available both in the Amazon Appstore for Android and Google Play).

Each method has some limitations, advantages and disadvantages which I will tell you more about in the below sections. Let's begin!

How To Block Numbers On Android: Possibilities & Limitations

As noted above there are two major ways of blocking numbers on Android: with the use of the system feature in your Android phone or with the use of an external app. 

An external app often gives you much more settings and customizations (e.g. using filters for some words) but usually the block will work only if you use the blocker app as a default app (e.g. for text messaging). 

On the other hand, built-in blocking features sometimes are quite limited (e.g. you cannot block a certain number unless it is in your call log). 

That's why I will help you choose the best way to block unwanted calls/messages for your specific needs. 

How To Block A Number On Android: Manual Method/Built-In Feature

Almost all Android phones I know have the built-in feature of blocking numbers (blocking both calls and text messages).

However, this will differ depending on the phone model and version of Android you have. In most cases you simply have to correctly adjust call and text messaging settings.

In the below two examples I will show you  how it looks on my Samsung Galaxy S7 (running Android 7.0). 

How To Block A Number On Android Using The Built In Feature In Your Phone

Blocking numbers on Android 7.0 is quite easy and it's similar to how you block numbers from text messaging (shown below). Here is what you need to do:

• Open the Phone app on your phone. You will find it in the app grid and in the bottom left corner on the home screen of your phone. 

• Click on the three dots in the top right corner and choose Settings. 

• Under CALL SETTINGS click on Block numbers. You can now add/remove numbers to block and also choose to block anonymous calls (just use the toggle button to activate this feature). From no on all the incoming calls from these messages will automatically be declined. 

How To Block A Number From Texting On Android Using The Built In Feature In Your Phone

Blocking certain phone numbers from texting me is quite easy on Android 7.0. Here is what you need to do:

• Make sure that you don't use any external text messaging app (like GO SMS Pro) but the built-in app for messaging. In most cases this app is simply called Messages/Messaging. Open the bult-in text messaging app in your phone and if it asks you to make it a default app, make it a default app for messaging. This is how the warning screen looks on my Samsung GalaxyS7. 

• Go to the settings of your text messaging app and choose Block messages. Under Block numbers you can choose which numbers to block and under Block phrases you can choose certain blocked phrases. Click on Block numbers to manage or add new numbers to block. As you can see you can either enter the number, import a number from your inbox or from your contacts.  

• Once you add the number to Block numbers all text messages from it will automatically be blocked. You will be able to see them under Blocked messages. 

Blocking Numbers On Android: SMS/Call Blocker Apps

If you don't want to use the built-in feature of blocking numbers on your Android phone, you can use one of many call or SMS blockers. There are really lots of such apps both in the Amazon Appstore for Android and in Google Play.

Below I will show you four (in my opinion) top call/SMS blocking apps for Android. 

How To Block A Number On Android With Call Blockers

There are at least two nice call blockers for Android I can recommend to you here.

The names of these apps can be a bit confusing because almost all of them have the same words in their name, i.e. "call blocker" or  "SMS blocker". 

That's why at the bottom of the description of each app I added links to it on Google Play or/and Amazon Appstore for Android to help you distinguish between these apps.

Call Blocker

This is one of the most popular free apps for blocking numbers on Android. Call Blocker has more than 5 million downloads and an average rating of 4.6 stars out of 5 in Google Play.  

The main features of this app include:

• White lists and black lists
• Different block modes (blocking all, blocking blacklist, allowing white list, blocking unknown numbers, allowing contacts)
• Possibility of turning on/off notifications about blocked/rejected calls
• Easy adding numbers to black list

You can download Call Blocker from Google Play here. 

Calls Blacklist - Call Blocker

Calls Blacklist - Call Blocker is a bit more advanced apps for blocking a number on Android phone and it gives you really a lot of different features and options. This is a call blocker but it also lets you block/filter text messages. 

The main features of this app include:

• White lists and black lists
• Different blocking modes (blocking unknown numbers, blocking hidden/private numbers, blocking everyone, blocking numbers beginning with certain digits etc.)
• Possibility of turning off notifications and icon in the status bar
• Blocking schedule
• Possibility of blocking text messages

You can download Calls Blacklist from Google Play here.

How To Block A Number From Texting On Android With SMS Blockers

There are also many apps for blocking numbers from texting you only. I have tested a few such apps and I want to show tow of them here. 

SMS Blocker

This is the most popular application for blocking texts on Android. It has more than one million downloads and an average rating of 4.4 stars out of 5. The main features of this app include:

• This app has to be set as the default app for text messaging if you want it to correctly block/filter text messages. 

• Different blocking criteria (based on number, a certain phrase or a series of phrases).
• Keeping blocked text messages in a separate folder and possibility of exporting them. 
• This is a FREE app but it's also available in the premium version with some extra features (e.g. automatic deletion of unwanted texts). 

You can download SMS Blocker from Google Play here.

SMS Blocker/Call Blocker

This is also a more advanced blocker app that will let you block both text messages and calls. Here are the main features of this app:

• The built-in messaging functionality so that you get more different options of blocking texts. Note that if you want this app to correctly block numbers from texting, you need to set it as default app for text messaging (and only use this app for sending/receiving text messages). 
• Automatic deletion of incoming (unwanted) text messages or calls  from call logs
• Black list.
• Different blocking options (blocking anonymous numbers, blocking private/unknown callers and so on).
• Possibility of disabling notifications.