Cutting through the noise: How brands can stay relevant under new iOS 26 message filtering

Discover all you need to know about message filtering on the Apple iOS 26 update, and how to ensure you reach your customers’ inboxes.

Dean Maree Senior Product Marketing Manager
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Apple iOS 26 imposes new message filtering, pushing messages from unknown senders to a dedicated inbox. With iPhones representing roughly 60% of smartphones in the U.S., this change is not a footnote, it’s a significant shift that impacts brand communications and the broader Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging industry. 

If consumers don’t recognize you, even the most important messages risk being ignored. Trust and relevance are now the gatekeepers of engagement.

Barbara Jurki

Product Director at Infobip

For marketing, political, and campaign managers, the message is clear: trust, deliverability, and incorporating an omnichannel strategy are crucial to reaching subscribers. 

iOS 26: Key messaging changes

Apple is introducing a new message filtering system designed to give consumers more control, limit spam, and reduce unwanted outreach across four categories: 

  • Time sensitive: Alerts, verification codes, urgent requests (enabled by default). 
  • Transaction: Orders, updates, receipts, confirmations. 
  • Promotions: Offers, bulk campaigns, updates sent to multiple recipients. 
  • Personal: Messages not tied to businesses or organizations.

So, how does the filtering system work?

Messages from numbers not in a user’s contacts or without prior engagement are automatically routed to the Unknown Senders folder, where they are muted by default and do not trigger notifications. Recipients can choose to whitelist trusted senders, ensuring that future messages from those numbers appear in the primary inbox.  

What our testing of Apple’s message filtering reveals 

At Infobip, we went beyond Apple’s iOS 26 announcement, we conducted extensive message testing across multiple scenarios to uncover how the new filters work in practice. The results show that message design is now as critical as consent in determining inbox visibility. 

Here are our findings:

1. Urgency + specific time = Main inbox

Messages that paired urgency with a clear expiry or timestamp (e.g., “Offer ends at 12:00 PM” or “Free shipping if you order within 30 minutes”) were consistently flagged as time-sensitive and appeared on the main screen. 

2. Verification / code-style promos perform strongly

Promotional alerts designed to mimic verification flows (“Your one-time code is SAVENOW. Get 50% off all items”) reliably bypassed filtering. When paired with explicit time cues (“Use within 10 minutes”), they gained time-sensitive status and surfaced to the user’s main inbox.

3. Transactional-like promos gain delivery priority

Promos written in a transactional or service-oriented tone, such as “Your reservation is almost complete” or “Payment reminder: finalize today and receive a bonus,” were more likely to be delivered, especially when linked to a user action.

4. Mobile originated (MO) remains the strongest signal

When a user engaged with a brand, messages consistently landed in the primary inbox. 

5. Vague urgency = Lost visibility

Messages that suggested urgency without time anchoring (“Hurry, don’t miss out!”) were filtered into the Unknown Senders folder, dramatically reducing exposure. 

These tests show that brands can’t rely on assumptions. Deliverability now hinges on explicit urgency and verified identity. Without them, even legitimate messages risk being unseen.

Barbara Jurki

Product Director at Infobip

What the Apple iOS 26 message filtering update means for your brand

Deliverability is no longer guaranteed. Even legitimate messages risk invisibility unless brands take proactive steps to build recognition and trust.

Risks include:

  • Revenue at risk: Marketing and fundraising campaigns may see declining ROI if users don’t recognize the sender. 
  • Customer experience at stake: Transactional messages like receipts or delivery updates may be missed, creating friction in the customer journey. 
  • Reputation on the line: Misusing “time-sensitive” categories or persisting with bulk, cold SMS can erode consumer trust. 

How to differentiate and avoid the unknown senders inbox 

Whether you’re selling, notifying, or mobilizing, your messages are more likely to be ignored unless you rethink how you reach and retain trust with your audience. 

Best practices include:

  • Leverage time-sensitive messaging: Highlight urgency with time cues so your alert surfaces on the user’s main screen instead of being filtered into the Unknown Senders folder. 
  • Simplify contact saving: Make it easy for users to save your sender ID via MMS vCard, QR code, or onboarding flows. 
  • Personalize and incentivize: Rich MMS, loyalty perks, and context-aware offers increase the likelihood of being saved in contacts. 
  • Adopt an omnichannel strategy: Combine SMS with familiar channels like email, social, and in-app to get into contacts, and messages seen. 
  • Build trust through verification and brand identity: Verified sender IDs and branded message openings increase recognition. 

Future-proof your messaging: Omnichannel funnel strategies 

Once basic best practices are in place, brands should implement advanced strategies to safeguard engagement: 

Verified identity as a trust signal

Verified SMS allows brands to display their name, logo, and verification badge inside the message thread. Consistent IDs (10DLC, dedicated TFN, or shortcodes), ensure recognition every time.

Get into contacts early

  • Prompt with an MMS vCard link during onboarding. 
  • Send an MMS vCard, prompting users to save contact details before the iOS 26 launch. 
  • Place QR codes on receipts or in-store displays. 
  • Offer incentives (“Save us as a contact for 10% off”). 
  • Encourage customers to save contact by text message (“Text JOIN to 12345”). 

Coordinate channels for the first touch

Don’t rely on cold SMS alone. Orchestrate the first touch:

  • Email ➜ SMS: “Look out for a text from 555-123-4567 with your delivery details.” 
  • App ➜ SMS: “We’ll send your confirmation by text. Save our number now.” 
  • Social DM ➜ SMS: “We’ll text your coupon in 5 minutes, save our number.” 

Timing and context optimization

Trust comes from context:

  • Send trigger-based messages within 60 seconds of an action (purchase, booking, form). 
  • Use brand name in the preview text (“Acme: Your order is ready…”). 
  • Create urgency with specificity (“Your access code expires at 9pm”). 

Educate customers properly

Early onboarding should include:

  • Short guides to whitelist senders. 
  • Setup campaigns across email + SMS. 
  • Interactive FAQ links for troubleshooting. 

Brands that orchestrate messages across channels and verify their identity earn visibility and trust, everything else risks ending up in the Unknown Senders inbox.

Barbara Jurki

Product Director at Infobip

Practices to avoid for message filtering

Apple’s changes are designed to discourage poor practices. To succeed: 

  • Don’t rotate numbers frequently. Frequent changes erode trust. 
  • Don’t blast cold SMS to unengaged users, they’ll go to spam. 
  • Don’t rely on a single channel. Resilience demands orchestration. 

Partner with a proven leader in omnichannel delivery 

As an omnichannel delivery expert and processor of the majority of U.S. messaging traffic, we’ve conducted extensive testing to help customers mitigate and overcome these latest changes. Partner with Infobip to: 

  • Reach customers with upgrade and failover capabilities on the leading messaging channels: WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, RCS, Viber, and more. 
  • Design and deliver contextual, personalized, value-driven messages that get seen. 
  • Build trusted, verified sender relationships. 

Want more insights into how to succeed under iOS 26?

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