We all hate those unsolicited phone calls from telemarketers or spammers. They just never seem to leave you alone, constantly trying to reach you to talk about a product or service that you could care less about. Or, you might have an individual that is blowing up your phone with phone calls or text messages that you want to stop, but they just won’t. Thank goodness for the heavenly functionality of blocking a phone number!
If you’re running the Google Pixel 3 as your daily driver, Google actually provides you with multiple avenues to block a phone number once and for all. It will keep the phone number blocked for the life of the phone, so if you upgrade to a new device, you’ll have to re-block those numbers.
So if you’re ready to stop those annoying phone calls and text messages, be sure to follow along below as we take you step-by-step through the process.
Blocking a Phone Number
There are a couple of ways that you can stop a person from text messaging you. However, in all of these ways, you cannot stop them from only texting you. You have to block the number, which means that you stop them from contacting you completely. If you’re OK with that, it’s actually very easy to stop someone from texting you.
The first way that you block a phone number is by opening your Pixel 3’s Messages app. Then, just hit the three-dot vertical menu button in the top right corned, select Blocked Contacts, and then you can add a number that you want to block. You can also select a thread, and with a long-press, you’ll get a prompt on whether or not you want to block that person.
The other way that you block a number is by opening your Phone app. Under your Call Log or Recent Calls list, simply tap one of the numbers, and you’ll have the option to block it or report it for spam. This only works for people that have already called you. That said, you can also open your Phone app, hit the three-dot vertical menu button in the top right corner, and head into Settings > Call Blocking. Here you can add specific numbers that you want to block. Just type in the number, and then press Block.
Congratulations, you just blocked a number from calling you and texting you!
Unblocking a number
It’s quite easy to unblock a number on the Google Pixel 3 XL. Like we outlined above, you can just head into the Phone app and tap that three-dot vertical menu button in the top right corner. Head into Settings > Call Blocking, and then just swipe away the number that you want to unblock.
Alternatively, you can open your Messages app, tap the three-dot menu in the top right corner and tap on the Blocked Contacts option. Just swipe away or tap on a number, and press the Unblock button.
What about telemarketers?
It’s difficult to stop telemarketers from texting and calling you, as they can always come up with a new number to reach you at, sometimes even a number that appears to be local. Telemarketers cold texting you is a whole lot more rare than cold calling, but it does still happen. Luckily, you can put your phone number on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Do Not Call Registry to stop those annoying texts.
Be careful of spammers
It’s really difficult to stop spammers from contacting you via text, unless Google or your carrier is able to automatically filter it out. You can block the spam number that comes through after the message is sent, but that does still mean you need to be careful with the message that you already received — this is because there are a little of cases with an included attachment that will actually plant malware on your Pixel 3 XL. Just be wary of what you’re opening!
Individual people
If you have an individual that just won’t leave you along, such as maybe a stalker, you might want to consider actually taking your call log history and text messages to the police or your local authorities. Unfortunately, blocking their number doesn’t always help in these situations, as they find another avenue to call you.
Verdict
As you can see, it’s relatively easy to block a text message on the Google Pixel 3. There are multiple methods to do it, and no matter which way you choose, you can stop individuals, telemarketers, and spammers from texting you. Do you have a way to easily block text messages? Let us know in the comments section below.