Stop Spam Texts - ZenSMS

Essential Labs 8

In-app purchases

About this app

Spam texts in America hit a record high last year. Your carrier won't stop them. Your current SMS app won't either. ZenSMS will.

Every incoming text runs through a 9-signal filter - scam links, urgency tactics, prize scams, fake delivery alerts, suspicious numbers. Flagged and blocked before you see them. Your bank OTPs are never touched.

And nothing ever leaves your phone. No account. No cloud. No ads. No data collection of any kind.

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🛡️ SPAM BLOCKING THAT ACTUALLY WORKS
✓ 9-signal analysis - not dumb keyword matching
✓ Anti-evasion: catches "Fr33 M0n3y" and Unicode disguise tricks
✓ Adjustable sensitivity: Relaxed → Balanced → Strict → Maximum
✓ Quick-block categories: Gambling, Prize scams, Loans, Marketing
✓ Block all unknown senders with one toggle
✓ Whitelist trusted senders - they always get through
✓ Link safety: tap a link from an unknown sender and ZenSMS asks first

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📂 INBOX THAT SORTS ITSELF
Stop scrolling through 40 OTPs to find one message from a friend.

Personal - contacts only
Transactions - bank alerts, OTPs, payments
Notifications - deliveries, appointments, reminders
Promotions - marketing, quarantined automatically
Unread - zero-inbox focus mode
Custom folders, rules, and auto-filing available with Premium.

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💬 FULL SMS & MMS
✓ Send and receive photos, videos, and documents
✓ Camera capture - take and send photos without leaving the app
✓ Full-screen slideshow viewer with pinch-to-zoom
✓ Save images directly to your gallery
✓ View all media shared in any conversation, organized by type
✓ Dual-SIM support - visible SIM selector, no hidden gestures
✓ Message delivery status (Sent / Delivered / Failed + retry)
✓ Group MMS with sender names shown

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🔑 OTP OVERLAY (Premium)
Floating card detects verification codes instantly. One tap to copy without leaving your current app. Works with banks, authentication apps, shopping, and more. OTPs always bypass spam filters.

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✨ SMARTER EVERYDAY FEATURES
✓ Send delay - set a 3-60 second window to cancel before it sends
✓ Swipe gestures - archive, delete, mute, block, or call with one swipe
✓ Smart sender grouping - same bank, different sender IDs? One thread.
✓ Reply from notifications - without opening the app
✓ Trash with 30-day recovery - nothing gone forever by accident
✓ Search - find any message or conversation instantly
✓ Pin, flag, and priority levels - High / Medium / Low
✓ Mark as unread, archive, mute
✓ Local backup & restore

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⏰ SCHEDULED MESSAGES (Premium)
Send later - birthdays, work messages after hours, reminders. Recurring supported. Cancel any time before it sends.

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✨ MORE PREMIUM
🤖 Auto-reply - custom responses when busy or driving
💬 Templates - one-tap replies for messages you send often
👥 Contact groups - message multiple people at once
📂 Custom folders - Work, Family, Shopping, anything
🎨 15+ themes - Dark, light, AMOLED black, and more

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🔒 VERIFIED ZERO TRACKERS. 27 PERMISSIONS.
Many SMS apps carry 5-10 tracking SDKs. ZenSMS has zero - no analytics, no ad networks, no platform ecosystems quietly collecting your data.

Independently verified: 0 tracking SDKs. 27 permissions.

Check it yourself: exodus-privacy.eu.org → search "ZenSMS"

Those 27 permissions exist for one reason each - SMS requires them to function. Nothing extra. Nothing kept "just in case."
✓ No account required - ever
✓ No cloud sync
✓ No analytics or crash reporting
✓ No ads
✓ Works completely offline
✓ All messages stored locally on your device

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🚀 ACTIVELY DEVELOPED
Solo-built and shipping fast. 45+ updates driven by user feedback.
📧 [e-mail]
🐛 github.com/Essential-Labs8/ZenSMS-public

Ratings and reviews

This seems like a pretty good SMS replacement app, going to be an uphill battle getting people to download and also pay 19.99 though for lifetime use on an app with only a few hundred installs according to Play Store. Understand you want to get paid, but being greeted immediately with premium options kind of feels bad when there's many other cheaper options which offer a similar feature set. Also no guarantee of longevity without a dedicated user base.

still a long way to go. 1. swipe action should include jumping to the top categories.(promo, personal etc) 2. there are way too many categories hidden on the right. no one is going to go through all those if it is not easily accessible. can't keep on moving it to the right. 3. The font of the sender name should be in bold. easier to identify the sender. 4. give a premium trial of 2-3days to go through other options. copy from mezo or sms organizer. (well thought out features)

Very promising (and more secure) alternative to Samsung Messages which is soon to be discontinued and why we're shopping for a replacement. We took ZenSMS out for a test drive and were impressed enough to buy the Premium features for $19.99. However, after working with the app for several days, we are consistently stymied by the inability to send/receive MMS photos whether on mobile data or wi-fi made no difference. The lack of customized notification sound is also a big problem for us.

What’s new

✨ What's New in v1.1.77:
👥 iPhone group MMS fix: Group chats started by iPhone users now arrive as one thread, not separate 1-on-1 conversations.
⬆️ Message options sheet no longer hides behind the navigation bar when selecting the bottom message.
🛠 Stability improvements and bug fixes.
Thank you for your support and feedback! ❤️