You Can Now Report iMessage Spam Directly To Apple, And Here's How
July 31, 2013
Apple has just launched a straightforward means by which users can report unwanted messages or spam sent through iMessage, its proprietary instant messaging service for iOS and OS X.
As noted by MacStories, in a new knowledge base article on its official support site, Apple encourages users to report iMessage spam by sending an email to imessage.spam@icloud.com.
According to the article, the email should:
While not a widespread issue, iMessage spam has been known to cause serious disruptions. Case in point: late last March, several well-known iOS developers became targets of denial of service attacks from at least one iMessage spammer:
- Include a screenshot of the message you have received.
- Include the full email address or phone number you received the unwanted message from.
- Include the date and time that you received the message.
The attacks are accomplished by sending a quick succession of messages via iMessage. These messages, which are supposedly sent automatically from the OS X Messages app with the aid of an AppleScript, can arrive at such a high rate that they completely crash the recipient’s Messages app on OS X and even on iOS.With its new channel for communication, Apple has just taken a simple yet significant step forward in the fight against iMessage spam. It's unclear, though, what Apple intends to do with the information it gathers from reports concerning unwanted iMessages. Note that with iOS 7, you yourself have the ability to thwart iMessage spammers, thanks to Apple's new contact-blocking feature. For more information on this feature, check out AppAdvice's hands-on video with iOS 7's Messages app below: If you can't see the video embedded above, please click here.
