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yesterday

NRSC Presses Apple to Delay iOS 26 Message Filter Over $500 Million GOP Fundraising Warning

The NRSC warns that iOS 26’s default unknown-sender filter could redirect campaign texts into a hidden folder, depriving GOP committees of up to $500 million in small-donor revenue ahead of its September release.

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Message filtering in iOS 26 upsetting politicians
iOS 26 treats political fundraising texts like any other messages from unknown senders.

Overview

  • iOS 26’s default Screen Unknown Senders feature routes texts from numbers not in users’ contacts into a separate folder without sending notifications.
  • A July 24 NRSC memo projects that with 70 percent of small-dollar donations coming via text and iPhones comprising 60 percent of US mobile devices, the filter could cost the committee $25 million and GOP campaigns up to $500 million.
  • The NRSC is lobbying Apple to postpone the filter’s mid-September rollout to avoid blocking time-sensitive get-out-the-vote alerts and fundraising appeals, calling the change voter disenfranchisement.
  • Apple senior executive Darin Adler has said that essential messages like verification codes will still appear, but the company has otherwise remained publicly silent on campaign concerns.
  • Advocates contend the update strengthens user control over spam while offering toggles for anyone who wants to receive texts from unknown senders.