SMS Shield vs Bouncer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SMS Shield
This app uses machine learning to automatically filter unwanted SMS messages, including promotions, phishing attempts, and scam texts. It offers features like a frequent traveler mode to block international carrier messages and a custom block list for specific numbers or keywords. All filtering is done offline, ensuring 100% privacy.
- Automatic spam filtering
- Frequent traveler mode
- Custom block list
- Offline filtering
- Multi-lingual spam detection
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SMS Shield is a Machine Learning-based SMS spam filter for iPhone. We trained it on what spam SMS looks like by showing it tens of thousands of spam SMSs beforehand. SMS Shield then learns and, to a high degree of confidence, can identify spam even it haven't seen it before. Besides spam blocking, SMS Shield includes innovative features like Frequent Traveler Mode. Features: + Automatic Spam Filtering SMS Shield will automatically block SMS spam like promotions, ads, phishing and scam attempts at stealing your sensitive information (e.g. SMSs claiming to be from your bank). + Frequent Traveler Mode Enable this innovative feature during your business travels to block the often-annoying SMSs sent by mobile operators when visiting other countries (e.g. "Welcome to country X..."). + Custom Block List With custom block list, you can block SMSes from specific phone numbers or that include specific keywords. Remember that annoying Ex who keeps SMSing you years later? Blocked! + 100% privacy guarenteed SMS Shield is an offline SMS filter. Meaning it does the filtering offline, on your device. All your texts are 100% private. + Multi-lingual spam detection SMS Shield detects spam (and is localized) in English, Portuguese (Brazil), Italian, Swedish, and Arabic. If you would like us to add a specific language email us with spam texts you receive (as many as possible). ------------------------------ Available Subscriptions: GOLD: 1 year spam filtering subscription SILVER: ½ year spam filtering subscription CLASSIC: 1 month spam filtering subscription Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. To manage subscriptions or turn off auto-renewal go to your iTunes account settings after the purchase. Any unused portion of the free trial period will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Privacy Policy: https://www.taphive.com/smsshield/privacypolicy.html Terms: https://www.taphive.com/smsshield/tou.html
Bouncer
This app acts as a powerful spam blocker and text filter, allowing users to regain control over unwanted SMS messages. It effectively blocks scam texts, political messages, phishing attempts, and junk SMS, keeping your inbox clean and private.
- Advanced text message filtering
- Complete privacy protection
- Smart message blocking with custom filters
- Automatic notification control
- Seamless integration with Messages app
- Advanced filtering rules (PCRE)
- 100% transparent and open source
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Stop unwanted SMS and text messages with Bouncer, the powerful spam blocker and text filter that puts you back in control. Block scam texts, political messages, phishing attempts, and junk SMS instantly. A perfect and private alternative to expensive SMS blockers like Robokiller. Features: - Advanced Text Message Filter: Block unwanted SMS, stop spam texts, and filter junk messages automatically. Bouncer detects and stops promotional texts, political SMS spam, scam messages, and phishing attempts. Keep your inbox clean from unwanted text notifications. - Complete Privacy Protection: Your text messages never leave your phone. No servers involved - all SMS filtering happens on your device. - Smart Message Blocking: Create custom filters to block specific SMS keywords, stop unwanted texts from specific numbers, and filter out any type of junk messages. Perfect for stopping political texts, blocking scam SMS, and filtering promotional messages. - Automatic Notification Control Stop notifications from spam texts and junk SMS automatically. Only get alerted for messages that matter. - Easy SMS Management: Works seamlessly with your Messages app to block unwanted texts. No complicated setup - just install and start blocking spam messages instantly - Advanced Filtering Rules (PCRE): Use powerful regular expressions to create custom text filters and stop any type of unwanted SMS. - 100% transparent and open source: Check out the code on GitHub: https://github.com/afterxleep/Bouncer Stop spam texts today with Bouncer - your personal SMS spam blocker and text message filter!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bouncer at 67% against SMS Shield's 17%. Bouncer also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.2) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). SMS Shield's advantage is price (Free vs $9.99) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 months). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
SMS Shield is free to download; Bouncer costs $9.99 up front. SMS Shield sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Bouncer asks for nothing beyond the download.
Bouncer holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 138 and 514 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 17% of SMS Shield's written reviews are positive against 67% of Bouncer's.
SMS Shield ships an update fortnightly, Bouncer every 5 months. Both last shipped on November 2, 2026.
| Parameter | SMS Shield | Bouncer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 3.2 (138 ratings) | 4.5 (514 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 16.7% of reviews | 67.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 138 | 514 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #61 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Taphive GmbH | Daniel Bernal |
Customer experience
SMS Shield
Bouncer
User reviews
SMS Shield
From 138 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Works well for some users
- 👍 Filters spam effectively for some
- 👍 Good for blocking specific keywords for some
- 👍 Worth the price for some users
- 👍 Privacy-focused (messages stay on device)
Room to improve
- 🐛 Doesn't work for many users
- 🐛 Fails to filter obvious scams
- 🐛 Still receives spam texts
- 🐛 Sends legitimate texts to junk
- 🐛 Requires manual spam addition
Bouncer
From 514 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Works as advertised
- 🚀 Effective at filtering spam
- 🔒 Privacy-focused, open-source
- 💰 Affordable one-time purchase
Room to improve
- 🐛 Bugs and stability issues
- 🤯 Deleted user's filter lists
- 🤔 Inconsistent performance
- 📱 Doesn't work across devices
Bugs and requests
SMS Shield
Reported bugs
14 issues- Filters out legitimate texts
- Doesn't block known spam
- Requires manual input for blocking
- No response from support
- Doesn't block SMS from email
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- Machine learning is ineffective
- App still filtering after cancellation
- App doesn't work after iOS update
- Keywords not being blocked
- False positives (blocking important messages)
- Cannot cancel subscription in-app
- App asks for sensitive permissions
- Free trial doesn't work as advertised
- Fails to modify records when classifying SMS
Requested features
6 requests- More blocking of SMS scams
- Option to mark SMS as spam or not spam
- Ability to whitelist keywords
- Better machine learning/training
- Improved support responsiveness
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- One-time purchase option
Bouncer
Reported bugs
3 issues- Welcome screen buttons not working
- Filters not working as expected
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
Requested features
5 requests- Automatic deletion of junk messages
- Ability to block entire area codes
- Integration with Apple Watch
- Customizable filter categories
- Regex support for advanced filtering
In-app purchases
SMS Shield
- Classic7 Days trial$0.991 Month
- Silver7 Days trial$3.996 Months
- Gold7 Days trial$8.491 Year
Bouncer
No in-app purchases









