Join the beta

TextMeNot is in closed testing on Google Play. A small group of people get the app early, use it as their everyday messaging app, and tell us what junk still gets through and what got screened that should not have. Places open in batches.

What you need

• An Android phone on Android 8 or newer. Pixel and Samsung are the best tested.
• The Google account you use on Google Play. Invitations are tied to that address, so a work or school account that cannot install apps will not work.
• A willingness to make TextMeNot your default messaging app for a while. Screening only works for the app that receives your texts.

What to expect

When a place opens you get an email from Google Play with a link. Tap it on your phone, accept the invitation, and install TextMeNot from the Play Store like any other app. The first run walks you through making it your messaging app and granting contacts and notification access, each with a reason shown.

Your texts stay on your phone. The app reads new messages on the device to decide whether they are junk; nothing you receive is sent to a server. Testers get the full screening with no quota while the test runs.

One trade-off up front: Google does not let other apps use RCS chat. While TextMeNot is your messaging app you send and receive SMS and MMS, the way phones did before RCS. Why that is. Switching back is one setting in Android and nothing is lost.

What we ask of you

Use it for at least two weeks. When a junk text reaches your inbox, long-press it and choose Mark as junk. When a real message lands in Screened, tap Not junk. Both actions teach the app about the sender, and the patterns we learn from testers improve the rules for everyone. For anything else, Settings has a Send feedback button that reaches us directly.

Leaving the beta

Open the same Google Play link and choose Leave, then switch your default messaging app back in Android settings. To have your signup removed, email sms@replatformradar.com or use the delete your data page.