Honeypot: Spam Filter · for iPhone
Spam gets stuck.Your codes get through.
Open-source spam filter that removes unwanted texts from your Messages. Real spam goes to Junk; verification codes and bank alerts are never touched.
Coming to theApp StoreJoin the betaiPhone only. SMS and MMS from unknown senders; iMessage is never visible to a filter.
Set it up in 4 steps
About a minute. No account to make.
- 2
Turn it on in Settings
Open the Settings app and go to:
Apps → Messages → Unknown & Spam
Turn on Screen Unknown Senders, then under Text Message Filter choose Honeypot.
- 3
Choose how it checks
Open Honeypot and pick Allow online checks, so texts your rules can’t decide get an anonymous second opinion. Or pick Local only and nothing ever leaves your phone.
- 4
That’s it
Real spam from unknown numbers now lands in Junk in Messages. If it gets one wrong, label the text in the app and Honeypot learns from it.
How it works
Three stops. Most texts never need the second one.
- 01 · On your iPhone
Your settings run first.
Folder choices like “political texts to Junk, promotions to Promotions” run on the phone.
- 02 · Honeypot server
Undecided texts get an anonymous check.
An AI model names a category. The server keeps nothing.
- 03 · Back on your iPhone
Your phone decides.
Junk, Promotions, Transactions or your inbox, by your settings.
What leaves your phone
Two modes. Switch any time in the app’s Privacy settings.
| Question | ModeLocal only | Default, after you agreeOnline checks, nothing kept |
|---|---|---|
| How texts are checked | Your rules, on your iPhone. | Your rules first. Texts they can’t decide get an AI check. |
| Leaves your iPhone | Nothing. | Sender and text go to the server; text and the kind of sender go to the AI provider. |
| Server keeps | Nothing. | No text, no number, no IP. Only a 24-hour fingerprint of the message template with its verdict, and anonymous counts. |
| Who can read it | You. | Nobody. The operator sees totals only. |
Open source on GitHub
Read the README for how it’s built.
Questions
What can iOS let a filter see?
Only SMS and MMS from senders who aren’t in your contacts. For each one iOS gives the filter the sender and the text, and the filter answers Junk, Promotion, Transaction or leave it. A filter can’t read your other messages, your contacts or your Junk folder, so filtered texts stay in Messages, under Junk, Promotions and Transactions.
Does Honeypot see my iMessages?
No. iOS never shows iMessage to a filter.
Are my contacts sent anywhere?
No. Texts from people in your contacts never reach a filter. That’s an iOS rule.
Could it junk a verification code or a bank alert?
No. Those are protected categories. They’re never junked, even if a rule or the AI says otherwise.
What gets sent, and when?
In Local only mode, nothing leaves your iPhone. With online checks, only texts your rules couldn’t decide, only from unknown senders, and only after you tap Allow online checks. The sender and the text go to the Honeypot server through Apple’s own filter request, which carries nothing that identifies you or your phone.
Which AI provider reads it?
Anthropic by default. It deletes API inputs and outputs within 30 days and doesn’t train on them; we have requested zero data retention. The full list is on the privacy page.
Why is there no log of what it did?
The hosted service can’t tell who you are, so it has no per-person log to keep. It holds only a 24-hour fingerprint of each message template with its verdict, and anonymous counts. Check Junk in Messages now and then.
Do I need an account?
No. There is nothing to sign up for.
What if the server is down?
Your iPhone leaves the text where it is. Nothing is lost and nothing is junked by mistake.