How to Disable Delete and Report Junk when Deleting Message in iOS 16

In this guide, we will be discussing about the new Delete and Report Junk option that is accessible while deleting a message in iOS 16. The sixteenth iteration of the OS has bought in quite a few noteworthy features and UI changes to the fore. While the former has been welcomed with open hands, the same cannot be said for the latter. Recently, we reported about many user’s infuriation with the Allow Paste prompt that appears every time you paste something from the clipboard.

And now, there has been another entry to this list, but this time the users are having a divided opinion. For the unaware, when you delete a message thread in iOS 16, then you would now get an additional Delete and Report Junk option, apart from the usual Delete Message and Cancel options. So if you are getting messages from an unknown contact, then reporting them is now just a tap away. So where lies the issue?

  • Why users are against the Delete and Report Junk feature in iOS 16?
  • Why some are favoring the Delete and Report Junk feature?
  • How to Disable Delete and Report Junk in iOS 16?

Why users are against the Delete and Report Junk feature in iOS 16?

delete and report junk ios 16 - 1

According to many users, the issue is with the positioning of this option. Many users are ending up unintentionally reporting a legitimate message as junk. For example, messages from courier delivery, banks, OTP, and Two Factor Authentication codes all come from a number that isn’t saved in their phone. So for each of these messages, iPhone displays the Report Junk option, which users end up accidentally tapping on.

While on paper it might sound like a silly mistake to do, but trust us, if your hands are set on a particular action for ages then you get used to it and you might end up committing that action even before you realize it. So for these set of users, they are voicing their concern that not all unknown numbers are junk and hence the option to report them as junk shouldn’t appear in this location.

According to them, Apple should have placed this option at a different location, such as on long pressing a thread. Moreover, users have said that if they really want to report a message, they could easily do so by getting in touch with their carrier. This then brings us to our second set of users who are in fact welcoming the addition of this feature.

Why some are favoring the Delete and Report Junk feature?

According to this batch of users, they no longer have to take the long route of reporting spam, as they could now directly do so from the message screen itself. Moreover, they are strictly against the notion that this is a UI/UX drawback because this isn’t something that Apple has hidden or made transparent. It’s right in front of you.

delete and report junk ios 16 - 2

So if someone accidentally ends up interacting with this option then it is completely their fault, and not Apple’s. Well, this seems to be a never-ending debate with no fix in sight. But in between all this, one question has been asked quite a lot-

How to Disable Delete and Report Junk in iOS 16?

Unfortunately, you cannot disable the Report Junk option when deleting a message in iOS 16. The only course of action that you could take is to give your feedback about this to Apple using its dedicated website .

Still, you shouldn’t expect any action on this until and unless the Cupertino giant gets enough negative feedback about this feature, which judging by the looks of it, isn’t going to happen as one-half of the population is in sync with the addition of this feature.

On that note, we round off this guide about the new Delete and Report Junk option that is accessible while deleting a message in iOS 16. Are you in favor of this new functionality or strongly against it? Do let us know your valuable options in the comment section below.

  • Cannot iMessage Myself in iOS 16: How to Fix
  • You cannot move iOS 16 Lock Screen notifications to the top!
  • Where are all the Default Wallpapers in iOS 16?
  • Allow Paste in iOS 16/iPadOS 16: Does it even makes sense?
Google preferred - 3 Google preferred - 4
  • Rose Ann Weatherly 3 years ago Reply I HATE the report junk feature. I accidentally hit it on texts that are not junk every once in a while. Way too busy in my day to have to do this when I just want to delete a text. And no way to undo it!
  • Youre 3 years ago Reply This long drawn out article is just as bad as the report junk option. For those who aren’t smart enough to skim the bs and just get to the point. I have no sympathy. For the Author, you just suck.
  • Steve Weinstein 3 years ago Reply I hate this feature of report junk or not. I have often mistakenly hit the top button which is report as junk when I did not mean to I just want to simply delete my texts.
  • Aaron Cream 3 years ago Reply I do not like that I have to choose if a message is junk or not each time I delete a message on my iphone. Please remove it or allow for it to be disabled. It’s not necessary and 99% of my messages are NOT junk anyway, so having to do that each time, is inconvenient and annoying. Please allow for it to be disabled.
  • Janet Flemmons 3 years ago Reply I understand that it’s handy when needed, but there should be an undo for when you accidentally click on it.
  • Garry 3 years ago Reply Unnecessary extra step. Make it optional!
  • Ashley Magnum 3 years ago Reply TO BE CLEAR ABOUT THIS ITEM. HATE HATE HATE HATE THE DELETE OR REMOVE OR REPORT JUNK GET RID of it or at least make it an option that we can select.
  • Fay Weinstein 3 years ago Reply I hate this new feature! If I want to delete something I should just be able to delete it!
  • Michael 3 years ago Reply Totally dislike this feature, don’t even know what will become of the ones I inadvertently reported as junk. Are they blocked forever? I don’t have an option to see ‘junk” messages. Please give us an option to turn feature OFF.
  • Rosemarie 3 years ago Reply I hate this feature. We should be given an option to turn it off. It’s a waste of time.
  • Tom 3 years ago Reply Absolutely hate the Report Junk feature. Apple could easily fix this by changing the delete screen to display two options Delete or Delete and Report as Junk
  • Kris 3 years ago Reply Let me decide if I want to delete junk or report junk e-mail. Just another step that I do niot want to do. “Delete” this option. Waste of time.
  • Stephanie Rosehart 3 years ago Reply HATE THIS SETTING… such a waste of time! What happens if I report every delete :/ will that help make it a feature to turn off
  • Unhappy 3 years ago Reply This feature is a complete waste of time. So frustrated I’m actually thinking of Turing in my Apple phone for something else. Definitely don’t want to wait for the next update!
  • Tina 3 years ago Reply I cannot stand the extra report junk step in order to delete a text. I don’t see the point at all. More annoying than anything. Almost want to go back to the older version before I did the update.
  • Mike 3 years ago Reply Get rid of the “report as junk” when deleting a text.
  • Randy Zinck 3 years ago Reply The report junction isn’t a feature but it is a waste of time and Apple should at least give the user the option whether they want to use it or not. It is a step that I don’t want to have to take. If I wanted to block a sender I can do it, and this so called feature is an annoyance.
  • B 3 years ago Reply This feature is not only unneccessary, but it’s annoying. I keep accidentally hitting the report button on messages I just want to delete. Who needs an extra step in the already tedious task of deleting messages? People can so easily block numbers that send out spam text messages – this new feature is just not needed. They should at least give users an option to disable it. Thanks for posting the link to lodge a complaint with Apple – I did that and I hope other people do the same in droves.
  • David 3 years ago Reply I agree with LINDA TWOMEY, that now you have to make two clicks to erase a message. Bad enough the confirmation click is required.
  • Cyndie 3 years ago Reply HATE IT LOTS. Too easy to accidentally click JUNK when it isn’t. I know how to block calls or messages I do not want to receive. MAKE THIS GO AWAY.
  • Magro Skip Zierden 3 years ago Reply Hate this DELETE JUNK feature. If I want to report something, I’ll take the initiative to report it. This new ‘feature’ is a waste of my time. Please make it an option so those who like it can keep it. I DON’T WANT THIS!!!
  • Paul 3 years ago Reply If the order of the options was reversed – with Delete as the top and report junk below it – that would be much better if not perfect. It would still be easy to report but also the usual option of delete would be in the default position.
  • Ricci Susick 3 years ago Reply Stupid new waste of time and clicks. Make it optional! What is purpose????
  • Nathan 3 years ago Reply This “feature” is also producing headaches for those who use SMS as part of MFA. Each new SMS sent, is seen as a new number. Therefore, each new SMS sent as part of MFA requires me to decide to report it as junk or not. It makes using SMS as part of MFA frustrating. We need a way to disable this feature.
  • Ted 3 years ago Reply very much against this feature – I have already inadvertently reported multiple legit #s as junk. Please remove this feature
  • Robert E. Morton 3 years ago Reply I hate this feature in iOS 16 now not only do I have to push another button to delete a text message if I accidentally hit report it I lose a message I did not want to report but I will not get texts from them in the future like traffic reports or ferry updates. So now I have to figure out how to recover it then restore it and then re delete this message. A complete waste of time. If anyone knows of a better text program than this garbage let me know. I will switch if they do not change it back!!!
  • Michael 3 years ago Reply This feature is annoying. You can put this in but still let the other 50% turn the damn thing off.
  • William Benitz MD 3 years ago Reply I HATE this new “feature”! It was already bad enough that a simple left-swipe won’t suffice to delete a message without double-confirming it, but now a third response is required. Whatever happened to “ease-of-use”?
  • Tom Doyle 3 years ago Reply Don’t like the delete “junk message” nag screen. Minimally, it should be optional and able to be disabled.
  • Laura 3 years ago Reply Report JUNK … it’s a horrible function now required to delete a message. Jim 3 years ago Reply Report junk on 16 is extremely annoying. Apple needs a way to disable this ASAP!!!!
  • Ricky Mann 3 years ago Reply This a very annoying so called “feature”. Adds additional click and if it does not block the sender then what is the use of having this annoying feature? Ashley Duran 3 years ago Reply I could not agree more with your statement!!! I’m perfectly fine with the additional step. BUT why do I have to report “junk” infinitely. The feature is a complete failure if you are asking for identification of potential threats, receive documentation of said threat & then have nothing in place to stop, remove, and/or block the “junkies” 🃏🥸🧐🤓🤨🚮🚫😬⚠️🚩
  • michael 3 years ago Reply This function is garbage. All I want is to be able to delete a message quickly with a simple swipe. I have to do too much to delete a text. Art Ambriz 3 years ago Reply This additional step to delete a text is very annoying. It seems that we are doing the, “footwork” to identify spoofers and spammers.
  • Jeanne Moore 3 years ago Reply RE: the new Delete and Report Junk option that is accessible while deleting a message in iOS 16. I am strongly against this “feature”! Yes, the number of Retail marketing messages I receive can be annoying but I don’t want to report them as junk. What is more aggravating is having to dismiss that stupid report junk prompt after deleting each message!! I came to this page, hoping that you had a way to disable it. 😭😭😭 Thank you for the link for logging my complaint with Apple. I have done so.
  • Murray 3 years ago Reply Having to go through the “Report Junk”/”Don’t Report” step each time I delete a message from Messages under iOS 16.0 is a complete and utter waste of my time!!!!! Apple should either remove this “feature” or else provide an easy way to disable it. (And I have so commented to Apple.)
  • Linda Twomey 3 years ago Reply I hate the report junk thing — I like to keep my messages clean — it is bad enough I have to swipe and click delete — NOW I have to click another thing. Grrrrrrrrr. I do not like this, i do not like this at all. ann 3 years ago Reply agree completely. I HATE HATE HATE this feature. Its one more poor UX/UI design by Apple. They are slipping more and more in that dept

(Cancel Reply)

Δ