Texting apps filtering out messages

[April Dyson]

In recent months, certain texting apps have been filtering out certain terms such as « deposit », « e transfer », « Amazon gift card », « PayPal », « crypto », or any sex related words as well as internet links. Those terms are just a few examples that I’ve noticed been filtered out.

The messages will appear sent normally, but they will not be delivered without any warning or notification to either the sender or the recipient

It is unclear at this point which apps (or which combination of apps) are fully affected, but if you are communicating with a provider and have sent a message with any of these terms or an internet link, try sending a screenshot of your message as photos do not appear impacted by these restrictions.

If you and a provider experience this, please help the community by posting in the thread with what app each of you were using and what word appears to have been filtered out.

 

[April Dyson]

Additional filtered words:

Avoid using words INCALL or OUTCALL - most probably it won’t be sent/received.

That doesn’t apply just for me - but for everyone using texting apps - a lot of providers use them.

 

[Gazoo64]

@April Dyson, Thanks for starting this thread and for the tips!

I sometimes use the line2 text app to communicate with SPs. I also noticed that the word INCALL triggers an error. In my case, it warns me that it didn’t send the messsge. It says something like “message not sent, violation of Line2’s SMS policy”.

Also, intermittently, I’ve experienced dropped texts (sent or received) from time to time (very intermittent, less than 1% of the time). It’s very frustrating, obviously it leads to miscommunication. There is no error message, so the sender assumes that the text was sent and received properly.

Has anyone experienced similar issues with line2, or other text apps? Are other apps more reliable?

 

[Johnny test]

which apps are we talking about?

 

[Gazoo64]

which apps are we talking about?

I’m using the line2 app. My response was based on this app, I’m not familiar with issues for other text apps.

 

[wiinston17]

Does it block all links?

If you ever need to send a link or message that is just way too long to simply take a screenshot, you can always encode the message or link via QR code. Services like qr.io comes to mind, and you simply need to take a screenshot of it to send it (don't sign up). You can encode pretty much anything in a QR code, including text, URLs, PayPal (although I wouldn't trust it).

The recipient doesn't need a second device to scan the QR code, they only need to save the image to their device. iOS support QR decoding natively by long pressing on the QR while Android needs an app like Google Lens to decode the saved image.

Obviously, this might be a hurdle to explain over text during the booking process, but if the VOIP provider doesn't block images over SMS, it's a sure way to circumvent the restrictions.

 

[April Dyson]

which apps are we talking about?

All apps - even the paid ones

 

[April Dyson]

Does it block all links?

If you ever need to send a link or message that is just way too long to simply take a screenshot, you can always encode the message or link via QR code. Services like qr.io comes to mind, and you simply need to take a screenshot of it to send it (don't sign up). You can encode pretty much anything in a QR code, including text, URLs, PayPal (although I wouldn't trust it).

The recipient doesn't need a second device to scan the QR code, they only need to save the image to their device. iOS support QR decoding natively by long pressing on the QR while Android needs an app like Google Lens to decode the saved image.

Obviously, this might be a hurdle to explain over text during the booking process, but if the VOIP provider doesn't block images over SMS, it's a sure way to circumvent the restrictions.

I usually talk in code for example mentioning I.n.c.all

Not sure for the links, sometimes it goes through sometimes it doesn’t.

Usually screenshots go through (from what I’ve noticed, most people don’t block images over SMS), that’s how I send my chart of services and also ask to provide me with the original message I didn’t receive.

I use Burner app, the paid version - it’s the most reliable one I could find.

 

[wiinston17]

I use Burner app, the paid version - it’s the most reliable one I could find.

Unfortunately, most if not all VOIP second line have gone to shit. I use a prepaid esim on my phone as my second line but I can't recall if it was possible to bypass the account verification process, and by extension one ID's, during the setup and simply use calling card to reload the balance.

I remember back in the days when I needed a burner phone for reasons unknown I could simply go to a fido store, signup using a phony ID and home address and simply recharge every month with a prepaid card. That might save some headaches on your end but it doesn't cover instances where the sender is using a VOIP app. I'd be curious to know if the filtering is done on the sender's end or the receiver's end or both. My guess, having worked with Twilio in the past, it was on the sender's end so there's no way for the recipient to know there was an attempt to send the SMS but Twilio is mostly for B2C so I could be completely wrong.

Time to move to Hello Kitty fonts loll

https://imgur.com/pIkxA8I

 

[Gazoo64]

Does it block all links?

I’m not sure about links, but in my case, I’ve notice that it blocks certain keywords like INCALL.
April gave some other examples of words that are blocked.

Also in my case, the bigger problem is that some texts intermittently get dropped (probably less than 1%, but still).
It’s extremely frustrating when you think a text was sent and received, but it wasn’t!

I am using the line2 app. I raised a few tickets with the help desk, but I just get the run around: re-install the app, restart my mobile phone, etc. Works for a while, then the same intermittent problems.

Any idea if most apps are not totally reliable for messaging?
Thoughts?

 

[wiinston17]

Any idea if most apps are not totally reliable for messaging?

It mostly the same garbage and technology with some apps more polished than others. You could give burner (not sure how reliable the free version is) or sideline (they have a 7 day trial so I say let your imagination run wild to test) which could potentially address the network issues you're facing. As for filtering, like April mentioned, using íñ¢αlI or ฿ï₸₡øɨѝ or a variation and combination of typos, accents, and emojis is a sure fire way to circumvent the filters in place at the risk of sounding like a drunk imbecile... although the missed/filtered texts take care of that for you already.

If links are not blocked and you need to send sensitive information, you could use temp.pm or onetimesecret to communicate and have a real second line that could be potentially traced back to you depending on your risk aversion. Note that this is burn after read so screenshot whatever you need to keep.

I'm surprised that GPG/PGP didn't catch on in this industry as it's virtually unbreakable with the current technology. Hopefully, more providers will offer more safe communication methods that don't rely on phone numbers such as app like Session, Threema or SimpleX although that technology comes with its own complexity as not being able to know if the sender is local, non-technical clients struggling, etc...

 

[wiinston17]

If you and a provider experience this, please help the community by posting in the thread with what app each of you were using and what word appears to have been filtered out.

So I found these articles, and they are not entirely relevant since they are geared towards businesses (B2C) instead of (C2C) but I'm pretty sure the same rules/concepts are applied.

- https://help.woosender.com/en/articles/6805016-why-is-my-sms-getting-filtered-by-the-carrier
- SMS Spam Words to Avoid When Marketing Your Business
- https://www.textrequest.com/insights/avoid-texts-marked-as-spam