• Google Messages annoyance

    From Bob Henson@q59qr3wnw@mozmail.com to comp.mobile.android on Thu Sep 11 10:26:00 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android


    Updating to Android 15 broke my simple SMS program, so I installed
    Google Messages. I have found how to disable the functions I don't want
    (I only want simple text messages) but every time a text comes in
    Google puts up an extremely annoying box asking me if I want to save the number as a contact. I've done come searching online, but cannot find
    out how to stop this. Is there a way to turn it off or remove it for good?

    Failing that, does anyone know of a free app which runs under Android 15
    and only does, or can be configured to only do, plain SMS messages? A
    spam blocking facility would be handy (as in my old app Spamhound) but I
    don't want bells and whistles and pretty pictures everywhere - the apps
    I'm forced to use by family connections already do those.
    --
    Tetbury, Gloucestershire, UK

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Carlos E.R.@robin_listas@es.invalid to comp.mobile.android on Thu Sep 11 12:46:19 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    On 2025-09-11 11:26, Bob Henson wrote:

    Updating to Android 15 broke my simple SMS program, so I installed
    Google Messages. I have found how to disable the functions I don't want
    (I only want simple text messages)  but every time a text comes in
    Google puts up an extremely annoying box asking me if I want to save the number as a contact. I've done come searching online, but cannot find
    out how to stop this. Is there a way to turn it off or remove it for good?

    Failing that, does anyone know of a free app which runs under Android 15
    and only does, or can be configured to only do, plain SMS messages? A
    spam blocking facility would be handy (as in my old app Spamhound) but I don't want bells and whistles and pretty pictures everywhere - the apps
    I'm forced to use by family connections already do those.


    Google Messages does have antispam. I don't get a prompt so generate a
    contact for every message I get. But then I have version 13.
    --
    Cheers, Carlos.
    ES🇪🇸, EU🇪🇺;
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Bob Henson@q59qr3wnw@mozmail.com to comp.mobile.android on Thu Sep 11 15:05:56 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    On 11/9/25 11:46 am, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2025-09-11 11:26, Bob Henson wrote:

    Updating to Android 15 broke my simple SMS program, so I installed
    Google Messages. I have found how to disable the functions I don't want
    (I only want simple text messages)  but every time a text comes in
    Google puts up an extremely annoying box asking me if I want to save the
    number as a contact. I've done come searching online, but cannot find
    out how to stop this. Is there a way to turn it off or remove it for good? >>
    Failing that, does anyone know of a free app which runs under Android 15
    and only does, or can be configured to only do, plain SMS messages? A
    spam blocking facility would be handy (as in my old app Spamhound) but I
    don't want bells and whistles and pretty pictures everywhere - the apps
    I'm forced to use by family connections already do those.


    Google Messages does have antispam. I don't get a prompt so generate a contact for every message I get. But then I have version 13.


    I'm aware of that - the antispam works well. It would be OK for my
    purposes if it didn't have that hugely annoying "save as contact" box
    popping up.
    --
    Tetbury, Gloucestershire, UK
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Marion@marionf@fact.com to comp.mobile.android on Thu Sep 11 15:02:23 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    Bob Henson wrote:
    On 11/9/25 11:46 am, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2025-09-11 11:26, Bob Henson wrote:

    Updating to Android 15 broke my simple SMS program, so I installed
    Google Messages. I have found how to disable the functions I don't want >>> (I only want simple text messages)  but every time a text comes in
    Google puts up an extremely annoying box asking me if I want to save the >>> number as a contact. I've done come searching online, but cannot find
    out how to stop this. Is there a way to turn it off or remove it for good? >>>
    Failing that, does anyone know of a free app which runs under Android 15 >>> and only does, or can be configured to only do, plain SMS messages? A
    spam blocking facility would be handy (as in my old app Spamhound) but I >>> don't want bells and whistles and pretty pictures everywhere - the apps >>> I'm forced to use by family connections already do those.


    Google Messages does have antispam. I don't get a prompt so generate a
    contact for every message I get. But then I have version 13.


    I'm aware of that - the antispam works well. It would be OK for my
    purposes if it didn't have that hugely annoying "save as contact" box popping up.

    Carlos E.R. wrote:
    Updating to Android 15 broke my simple SMS program, so I installed
    Google Messages. I have found how to disable the functions I don't want
    (I only want simple text messages)  but every time a text comes in
    Google puts up an extremely annoying box asking me if I want to save the
    number as a contact. I've done come searching online, but cannot find
    out how to stop this. Is there a way to turn it off or remove it for good? >>
    Failing that, does anyone know of a free app which runs under Android 15
    and only does, or can be configured to only do, plain SMS messages? A
    spam blocking facility would be handy (as in my old app Spamhound) but I
    don't want bells and whistles and pretty pictures everywhere - the apps
    I'm forced to use by family connections already do those.


    Google Messages does have antispam. I don't get a prompt so generate a contact for every message I get. But then I have version 13.

    Always being helpful by contributing tested knownedge to the group...

    1. I tested every free messenger app on Android years ago.
    2. I settled upon FOSS PulseSMS (which you can build from src).

    <https://www.reddit.com/r/selfhosted/comments/k7297f/pulsesms_anyone_have_the_latest_source_code/>
    From: Marion <marion@facts.com>
    Newsgroups: alt.comp.os.windows-10,comp.mobile.android,alt.comp.os.windows-11
    Subject: Tutorial: Build your first Android APK on Windows from Github WhisperIME source code
    Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2025 09:23:09 -0000 (UTC)
    Message-ID: <108c19t$1o40$1@nnrp.usenet.blueworldhosting.com>
    3. But the Klinker Bros. sold to Maple Media (the devil) in Oct 2020
    4. You can install the last known good version of PulseSMS at
    <https://tinyurl.com/pulsesms> last known good version
    <https://mobile.softpedia.com/apk/pulse/5.4.6.2816/>
    5. It's still working for me (Galaxy, Android 13)
    6. Disable automatic updates of course
    7. No RCS support (but then, nothing but Google has RCS)

    For the average Joe, that's too much effort, but these might work out. ===================================================================
    Simple SMS Messenger on F-Droid
    Lightweight, ad-free, and open source
    Handles SMS/MMS with group messaging, backups, and message archiving
    No internet permission = no tracking

    <https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.simplemobiletools.smsmessenger/index.html> ===================================================================
    QUIK SMS on F-Droid
    A revival of QKSMS, fully open source
    Scheduled messages, backups, message blocking, and voice messages
    Actively maintained by the community
    <https://f-droid.org/packages/dev.octoshrimpy.quik/> ===================================================================
    Silence on F-Droid
    Privacy-focused SMS/MMS app with optional end-to-end encryption
    Encryption works only if both parties use Silence (Signal protocol)
    All messages stored encrypted locally; no accounts or servers
    No internet permission; open source (GPL-3.0)
    <https://f-droid.org/packages/org.smssecure.smssecure/> ===================================================================
    Fossify Messages on F-Droid
    Modern, open-source SMS/MMS app from the Fossify suite
    Clean Material UI, theming, group messaging, MMS support
    No ads, no tracking, no Google dependencies
    Actively maintained and lightweight
    <https://f-droid.org/packages/org.fossify.messages/> ===================================================================
    --
    Usenet is where kind-hearted people daily gather to help others.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Bob Henson@q59qr3wnw@mozmail.com to comp.mobile.android on Thu Sep 11 18:37:14 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    On 11/9/25 4:02 pm, Marion wrote:
    Bob Henson wrote:
    On 11/9/25 11:46 am, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2025-09-11 11:26, Bob Henson wrote:

    Updating to Android 15 broke my simple SMS program, so I installed
    Google Messages. I have found how to disable the functions I don't want >>>> (I only want simple text messages)  but every time a text comes in
    Google puts up an extremely annoying box asking me if I want to save the >>>> number as a contact. I've done come searching online, but cannot find >>>> out how to stop this. Is there a way to turn it off or remove it for good? >>>>
    Failing that, does anyone know of a free app which runs under Android 15 >>>> and only does, or can be configured to only do, plain SMS messages? A >>>> spam blocking facility would be handy (as in my old app Spamhound) but I >>>> don't want bells and whistles and pretty pictures everywhere - the apps >>>> I'm forced to use by family connections already do those.


    Google Messages does have antispam. I don't get a prompt so generate a
    contact for every message I get. But then I have version 13.


    I'm aware of that - the antispam works well. It would be OK for my
    purposes if it didn't have that hugely annoying "save as contact" box
    popping up.

    Carlos E.R. wrote:
    Updating to Android 15 broke my simple SMS program, so I installed
    Google Messages. I have found how to disable the functions I don't want >>> (I only want simple text messages)  but every time a text comes in
    Google puts up an extremely annoying box asking me if I want to save the >>> number as a contact. I've done come searching online, but cannot find
    out how to stop this. Is there a way to turn it off or remove it for good? >>>
    Failing that, does anyone know of a free app which runs under Android 15 >>> and only does, or can be configured to only do, plain SMS messages? A
    spam blocking facility would be handy (as in my old app Spamhound) but I >>> don't want bells and whistles and pretty pictures everywhere - the apps >>> I'm forced to use by family connections already do those.


    Google Messages does have antispam. I don't get a prompt so generate a
    contact for every message I get. But then I have version 13.

    Always being helpful by contributing tested knownedge to the group...

    1. I tested every free messenger app on Android years ago.
    2. I settled upon FOSS PulseSMS (which you can build from src).

    <https://www.reddit.com/r/selfhosted/comments/k7297f/pulsesms_anyone_have_the_latest_source_code/>
    From: Marion <marion@facts.com>
    Newsgroups: alt.comp.os.windows-10,comp.mobile.android,alt.comp.os.windows-11
    Subject: Tutorial: Build your first Android APK on Windows from Github WhisperIME source code
    Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2025 09:23:09 -0000 (UTC)
    Message-ID: <108c19t$1o40$1@nnrp.usenet.blueworldhosting.com>
    3. But the Klinker Bros. sold to Maple Media (the devil) in Oct 2020
    4. You can install the last known good version of PulseSMS at
    <https://tinyurl.com/pulsesms> last known good version
    <https://mobile.softpedia.com/apk/pulse/5.4.6.2816/>
    5. It's still working for me (Galaxy, Android 13)
    6. Disable automatic updates of course
    7. No RCS support (but then, nothing but Google has RCS)

    For the average Joe, that's too much effort, but these might work out.


    Not necessarily too much effort, but most people (like me) don't have
    the know-how or the or the skill to assemble things from scratch. The
    others from F-Droid (whatever that is) might be fine, but I only get
    apps from the official channels - I don't know enough about the others.
    Thanks very much for the ideas though.
    --
    Tetbury, Gloucestershire, UK
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Marion@marionf@fact.com to comp.mobile.android on Fri Sep 12 17:01:04 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

    Bob Henson wrote:
    Not necessarily too much effort, but most people (like me) don't have
    the know-how or the or the skill to assemble things from scratch. The
    others from F-Droid (whatever that is) might be fine, but I only get
    apps from the official channels - I don't know enough about the others. Thanks very much for the ideas though.

    I understand. With PulseSMS, you can download the last known good version
    but you have to sideload it, and you have to keep it from updating also.

    It's too much work if you already have something else you like, which is
    why I had suggested apps that are commonly used to replace Google messages.

    The only thing Google Messages does that other messaging apps don't do, is
    RCS, so if anyone knows of a non-Google RCS-capable app, let us all know!
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2