Android Authority columnist switches from Google Messages to open-source QUIK over spam filtering

The columnist wrote that WhatsApp handles family communication and other daily messaging, so RCS is not a priority. SMS remains necessary for one-time PINs, company correspondence and emergency communication, but Google Messages is overkill for those needs. The immediate reason for seeking an alternative was not the app’s breadth of features but its spam-blocking behavior.

According to the article, Google Messages often marks messages from the writer’s carrier and bank as spam while allowing actual scam texts to reach the device. The feature has no toggles and allows no user refinement or customization, the writer said, leaving the app to decide what to block without user agency.

The writer found QUIK on F-Droid. The app is a continuation of the defunct QKSMS and is described as functional and no-nonsense rather than visually polished. Its main appeal is more granular blocking. Under Settings > Blocking, users can choose a Blocking Manager and use external apps to vet incoming messages, including Should I Answer?, which the writer uses to identify calls from outside the contact list.

QUIK also offers Message content filters. The writer said users can add specific words, regular expressions or strings to a blocklist; when an SMS contains that content, QUIK runs it against the blocklist and moves offending texts out of the main feed. The writer uses this to block recurring advertising strings such as funeral cover, data specials and insurance while allowing similar messages such as balance updates. With Google Messages, the writer said, there was no assurance that important texts would be allowed through; with QUIK, the user can decide.

The article does not present QUIK as a complete solution. The writer said the hands-on approach has a learning curve: early attempts to add individual words and phrases without selecting the Regular expression toggle failed to block anything. The app demands constant tinkering and vigilance, and if a sender changes wording, the blocklist must be updated. Some messages still get through, the writer said, but that is not QUIK’s fault.

The writer said confidence in Google Messages was permanently dented after receiving a spoofed traffic-fine text. The writer nearly tapped the link, thinking it had been vetted, and stopped after seeing the bogus URL. Google Messages should have blocked it, the writer said. After that near miss, the writer looked elsewhere and settled on QUIK.

QUIK will not suit everyone, according to the article. Many readers rely on RCS daily, and only Google Messages currently supports the protocol, the writer noted. Because RCS is not important to the writer, the trade-off was acceptable.