ClearSMS
ClearSMS is a text messaging (SMS) app for Android without ads. It sorts every message into Personal, Transactions, OTP and Promotions, so the texts from people and your bank are not buried under offers, and it puts verification codes right in the notification.
Who it is for
- Anyone whose inbox is full of offers and wants messages from people and banks kept apart from marketing.
- People who get a lot of one-time passwords and want to copy the code without opening the app.
- Anyone who wants an SMS app with no ads or tracking.
What it does
| Feature | What it means |
|---|---|
| Smart inbox | Every conversation is sorted into one of four categories, each with its own tab. |
| Focused tab | The first tab you see, showing the categories you choose. Personal, Transactions and OTP to start with. |
| Smart OTP notifications | The code is shown in the notification title, with a Copy code button. |
| Silent promotions | Promotional texts never ring or vibrate. |
| Auto-delete old promotions | Removes promotional texts after a period you choose. On by default; see the warning below. |
| Search | Finds conversations by name, number or the text of their latest message. |
How sorting works, and privacy
ClearSMS sorts messages with a fixed set of rules that run on your phone: it looks at who sent the message (a saved contact, a phone number or a business name such as VM-HDFCBK) and at words in the text, such as "OTP", "debited" or "% off". There is no server and no machine learning service involved. ClearSMS has no ads and no tracking, and your messages never leave the phone.
Messages from saved contacts are always Personal.
Promotions are deleted automatically
Auto-delete old promotions is on when you install ClearSMS. Texts sorted as promotions are deleted from your phone once they are older than two weeks. Messages from saved contacts are never deleted. If you want to keep every message, turn it off in Settings straight after setting ClearSMS up. See Promotions and auto-delete.
Limits
- SMS only. MMS (picture messages) and group MMS are not supported.
- No RCS. Android gives no RCS (chat features) access to apps other than Google Messages. While ClearSMS is your default SMS app, RCS chats pause and people's messages reach you as SMS. See Default SMS app and RCS.
- No dual-SIM choice, scheduled sending or backup.
Platforms
ClearSMS runs on Android 8.0 or later. The source code and the issue tracker are on GitHub.