Rally is a Sr Product Marketing Manager at Postscript and one of the few Canadians on the team. She has been an early employee in multiple tech startups and joined the ecommerce industry in 2017. On the side, she has also worked as a SaaS startup consultant.
iOS 26: What SMS Marketers Need to Know
[September 16th, 2025 update] iOS 26 is official here, and Postscript has launched new features to support it. Read more about it here.
Apple released their iOS 26 update in a public beta this July, with the final public release expected to occur mid September. In anticipation of this release, there has been a great deal of speculation and concern about how this update will impact SMS marketing.
Don’t get caught up in the alarmism. We’ve outlined what’s actually changing and what you should know as an SMS marketer.
The Case for Staying Calm
It’s important to note that this update is in beta and some details will likely keep evolving until it is released in the fall. Unless you’re part of Tim Cook’s inner circle, we encourage a healthy dose of skepticism as an antidote to the typical rumor mill that often accompanies Apple release cycles (remember the Apple Car?).
As members of Mobile Ecosystem Forum, CTIA, and the Ecommerce Innovation Alliance, Postscript is engaging with Apple to ensure that Apple continues to understand the importance of making it easy for consumers to access the text messages that they have requested to receive from brands they know and trust. And we will continue to share updates with you as they come, without adding to the rumor mill.
Now, onto the updates and what we know about them thus far!
How does Screening Unknown Senders work?
“Screen Unknown Senders” is a feature in the Messages app that Apple has had since 2018, so it’s been around for a long time. With iOS 26, Apple is introducing some updates to this feature and making it easier for users to find and enable, which is expected to increase its adoption.
When enabled, Screen Unknown Senders helps organize and manage your messages by separating messages from known versus unknown senders. The inbox is filtered into the following categories:
Messages (also referred to as Known Senders): Default inbox for saved contacts, “marked as known” senders, anyone the user has initiated a conversation with, and time-sensitive messages like one-time passcodes
Unknown Senders: Senders not saved in Contacts, not “marked as known”, or the user has not initiated a conversation
Spam: filtering to protect consumers from phishing and other fraud attempts
Recently Deleted: recently deleted conversations that can still be recovered
On iOS 26, the Screen Unknown Senders feature will remain off by default in most regions including US, Canada, UK, and Australia—subscribers have to turn this feature on in their iPhone Settings for it to take effect.
How to get your brand into the Known Senders List
There are several ways for your brand’s number to be marked as a Known Sender and end up in the main inbox:
Asking subscribers to add your brand as a contact is the most direct way to get into the Known Senders inbox. With Postscript, you can send a contact card as part of an automation or campaign to encourage subscribers to save you in their contacts easily.
Subscriber marks your thread as a “Known Sender”, which is a button that will appear under messages if the user has the feature enabled
Subscriber opts-in using a Keyword or QR code, thereby initiating the conversation with your brand
Subscriber engages in conversation with your brand (Despite guidelines from Apple on this method, testing has shown mixed results so we are continuing to monitor. But it’s a very positive signal for conversational products like Shopper which allows you to have quality 1:1 conversations with an unlimited number of subscribers.
Will Screen Unknown Senders Affect Your Message Performance Overnight?
While we expect adoption of Screen Unknown Senders to increase with iOS 26, it’s impossible to say exactly how many iPhone users will enable it, or how quickly. Apple hasn’t released adoption data or forecasts. Here’s what we do know:
The feature will remain off by default in most regions, including US, Canada, UK and Australia
Eligible iPhone users update to the newest OS over the course of months, not days
Reported bugs and UX friction for this feature may slow user adoption
So yes, there may be some immediate impact, but widespread adoption will take time.
Onsite Opt-in Remains The Fastest List Growth Tool
Onsite Opt-In is our patented opt-in method that uses a One-Time Passcode to complete the opt-in while keeping the subscriber on-site. Apple has confirmed that messages containing One-Time Passcodes are treated as time sensitive messages that (1) still appear as notifications on the lock screen, (2) temporarily appear in the main inbox because they are recognized as time sensitive messages, and (3) trigger the auto-fill as expected.
So in short, Onsite Opt-In will continue to be the most effective way to maximize list growth, with up to 30% higher opt-in rates compared to Two-Tap and up to 2x over double opt-in.
Key Takeaway? Don’t Panic
With the release of iOS 26, a lot is changing for Apple users. And yet, very little is changing for SMS marketers. The purpose of Filter Unknown Sender is to keep messages that people don’t want to see out of their inbox. So as long as you keep sending valuable, relevant, and personalized text messages to your subscribers, they will keep engaging with your texts, having conversations with your brand, and adding you to their known senders lists. And in the meantime, we are working on new opt-in features that prioritize your placement within the Known Senders inbox.
As always, we’re taking proactive steps with both the Postscript team and the Ecommerce Innovation Alliance to support you through industry changes. Stay tuned for more updates!
