Block a spam caller or texter

Use the Blocked Senders list to block or unblock a phone number's texts and calls, mark it as spam or not spam, and see the history behind the decision.

In the sidebar, open Settings, then choose Blocked Senders under Communications. The page address is /communications/sender-safety. The page title reads Sender Safety. Every phone number that has texted or called your organization is listed here with its current standing.

Before you start

• Your role needs the sender safety permissions: one to see the list, one to mark spam or not spam, one each to block texts and block calls, and one to view a sender's history. Actions you cannot take do not appear in the row menu.
• Blocking texts and blocking calls each have to be included in your plan.

Steps

1. Type part of the number in Search phone number. Use digits only; the search matches the number, not a name.
2. To narrow the list, press Filters and choose a Status (All, Spam, Not spam, Trusted, Suspected or Unknown) or a Blocked option (All channels, Any blocked, Texts blocked or Calls blocked). Sort and Direction in the same panel change the order, and Reset filters clears the search, filters and sort.
3. Open the actions menu (the three dots) at the end of the number's row.
4. Choose Block texts or Block calls. Nova also marks the number Spam.
5. To undo a block, open the menu again and choose Unblock texts or Unblock calls. Unblocking also marks the number Not spam.
6. To flag a number without blocking it, choose Mark spam. On a number already marked Spam the menu offers Mark not spam instead, which clears the flag but leaves any block in place.
7. To see what happened to a number, choose View history, or press the row. The Sender history drawer lists each time the number was seen, reviewed, blocked or unblocked, newest first.

What you see

• Nova confirms each change with Sender safety updated.
• Each row shows the Sender number (with its full international form under it), its Status, whether its texts and calls are blocked under Channels (Texts allowed or Texts blocked, Calls allowed or Calls blocked), its spam and not-spam reports and how many texts and calls it sent under Reports, and when it was Last seen.
• A blocked caller is turned away before the call rings. Texts from a blocked number are still saved, but their conversation is blocked and muted and nobody gets an alert.
• Spam protection always lets a number marked Not spam or Trusted through, and treats a number marked Spam as suspicious even when it is not blocked.
• Spam protection at the top opens your organization's rules for suspicious senders. It appears only when your role can see them. See Set up spam protection for calls and texts.
• Block & report spam in a text conversation's actions menu blocks texts from that number, and the number shows Texts blocked here. See Star, file, pause or block a text conversation.

If something looks different

• The list reads No sender safety records have been recorded yet.: no number has texted or called yet.
• The list reads No senders match the current filters.: press Filters, then Reset filters.
• An action is missing from the menu: your role lacks that permission. Ask your admin. If View history is missing, pressing a row does nothing either.
• An error appears instead of Sender safety updated. when you block: blocking that channel is not included in your plan.
• The history drawer reads No history recorded for this sender.: nothing has been recorded for that number yet.

Open Blocked Senders