{"id":6408,"date":"2022-01-25T14:55:05","date_gmt":"2022-01-25T14:55:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/01\/25\/apple-needs-to-fix-its-group-texting-abuse-problem\/"},"modified":"2022-01-25T14:55:05","modified_gmt":"2022-01-25T14:55:05","slug":"apple-needs-to-fix-its-group-texting-abuse-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/01\/25\/apple-needs-to-fix-its-group-texting-abuse-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple Needs to Fix Its Group Texting Abuse Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

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If you\u2019re participating in a group text in Messages with devices that use SMS (such as Android phones), you can\u2019t leave the group chat, and that makes iPhone owners vulnerable to abuse and bullying. Apple should fix this immediately\u2014here\u2019s how.<\/p>\n

How Group Texting Abuse Happens<\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s the core problem: Using their phone, anyone can send a text message to multiple phone numbers at once<\/a>, creating a texting group. Any time someone replies to that group, the reply is sent out to every single phone number on the list. If anyone in the group uses a non-Apple phone (which is 86% of global smartphone users<\/a>), the chat falls back to the ancient SMS standard<\/a>, and there is no way to leave the group by choice.<\/p>\n

The only way to get out of a SMS texting group is for people to create a new group chat and leave your number out of the list. Everyone in the list has to agree to stop using the old group, which is difficult with more than a handful of people.<\/p>\n

Even if you delete the group text thread in Messages, the thread will show up again once someone replies. You\u2019re locked in.<\/p>\n

SMS, which turns 30 this year, doesn\u2019t support any type of group management or moderation, and Apple\u2019s avoidance<\/a> of supporting a modern industry texting standard with moderation features puts some of its own customers at grave risk.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s More Common Than You Might Realize<\/h2>\n

On Apple\u2019s own Communities discussion board, there are at least a dozen threads<\/a> about getting stuck in abusive texting groups thanks to SMS, if not more. For the sake of privacy, we won\u2019t get into the details here, but they can be harrowing to read. The threads stretch back a decade. There are more complaints on Reddit and even in the media<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s not Apple\u2019s responsibility to moderate every social dispute, but the firm could easily fix this particular problem with a technological solution, improving people\u2019s lives by giving them the control they should have over their texting experience.<\/p>\n

The Conventional Solutions Fall Short<\/h2>\n

There are currently a handful of ways to deal with an unwanted or abusive group texting scenario on an iPhone, but each has a significant catch or drawback that keeps them from being fully effective. Still, here\u2019s a look at the conventional solutions to group texting abuse.<\/p>\n