QuietText tutorial
Everything you need in about five minutes: what the first-run tutorial covers, how to turn the filter on, and how to tune it.
The first-run tutorial
The first time you open QuietText you get four short screens. Tap Skip at any point and you go straight to the app.
Your texts stay on your phone
QuietText has no server and no account. Each text is checked on your iPhone and nothing is kept.
Rules you can read
Every rule is listed in plain words. Switch any off, add your own phrases, and keep allow and block lists.
Junk, promos and receipts, sorted
Scams go to Junk. Sales go to Promotions. Codes, orders and reminders go to Transactions.
Turn it on in Settings
Switch QuietText on in Messages’ unknown-sender settings. The Home tab shows the exact steps for your iOS version. Tap “Show me how” on the last screen.
Replay the tutorial
Skipped it, or want a second look? Open the Settings tab inside QuietText and tap Replay tutorial. You can replay it as often as you like.
Turn the filter on
iOS decides which filter app is active, and only you can switch it on. Pick your iOS version (Settings › General › About shows it).
iOS 17
Settings › Messages › Unknown & Spam
- Turn on Filter Unknown Senders.
- Tap SMS Filtering.
- Choose QuietText.
iOS 18
Settings › Apps › Messages › Unknown & Spam
- Turn on Filter Unknown Senders.
- Tap SMS Filtering.
- Choose QuietText.
iOS 26
Messages › Filters › Manage Filtering › Text Message Filter
- Open Manage Filtering from Filters in Messages.
- Under Text Message Filter, choose QuietText.
- After you choose QuietText, open the app and go to the Home tab.
- Flip I’ve turned it on. This is only a reminder inside the app: iOS does not tell apps whether their filter is on, so QuietText cannot check for you.
- Look in Messages › Filters for your Junk, Promotions and Transactions folders. New texts from unknown senders are sorted there.
Good to know
QuietText only sees texts from unknown senders: SMS, MMS and RCS from numbers not in your Contacts that you have not replied to. iMessage, contacts and people you have answered are never sent to it. Only one text-filter app can be active at a time.
Tune the rules
- Rule groups. Open the Rules tab. Each group, such as fake delivery problems or sales and offers, has its own switch. Turn off any group that gets it wrong for you.
- Your own words. Add plain words or phrases to a group. Words are matched as plain text, not code, so there is nothing to break. Case and spacing are ignored.
- Allow and block lists. Add a sender to the allow list and QuietText always lets its texts through. Add a sender or phrase to the block list and it always goes to Junk. Block here means “send to Junk”; the text still arrives in the Junk folder.
Check a text in the Test tab
- Copy a text from Messages.
- Open the Test tab in QuietText and paste it in.
- Read the verdict (Junk, Promotion, Transaction or Allowed) and the reason.
- Not what you wanted? Switch a rule group or add a word on the Rules tab, then test again.
The Test tab uses the same rules as the real filter. The Log tab lists only the checks you run in the Test tab; the filter itself keeps no record of your real texts.
More questions? See the FAQ or contact support.