SMS Shield vs Gandalfone
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 like promotions, phishing attempts, and scam texts. It also offers a unique mode for frequent travelers to block carrier messages and allows users to create custom block lists for specific numbers or keywords. All filtering is done offline, ensuring 100% privacy.
- Automatic spam filtering
- Frequent traveler mode
- Custom block list
- Offline filtering for 100% privacy
- Multi-lingual spam detection
- Machine learning based identification
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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. + 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 in English, Spanish, 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
Gandalfone
This app filters unwanted spam, phishing, and promotional messages from your inbox. It offers customizable controls like blacklists and whitelists, ensuring your messages are private and secure as all filtering occurs on your device.
- Intelligent spam filtering
- Phishing attempt detection
- Customizable blacklists and whitelists
- On-device privacy
- Personalized SMS filtering rules
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Welcome to Gandalfone, the ultimate solution to keep your messaging experience clean, organized, and free from unwanted distractions. Say goodbye to spam, and hello to a clutter-free inbox! Why Gandalfone? Intelligent Spam Filtering: Our advanced algorithms work tirelessly to filter out spam, phishing attempts, and unwanted promotional messages. Enjoy an inbox that's focused solely on what matters to you. Customizable Controls: Tailor your SMS filtering with personalized settings. Create and manage blacklists, whitelist essential contacts, and set up custom rules that suit your messaging needs. Privacy-Focused: Your privacy is our priority. All filtering happens on your device, ensuring your messages remain private and secure. Support and Feedback Your feedback helps us grow and improve. Please share your thoughts and suggestions with us through the app or our support email.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Gandalfone at 62% against SMS Shield's 17%. Gandalfone also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and rating (3.6 vs 3.2). SMS Shield's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (138 vs 17). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. SMS Shield sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Gandalfone asks for nothing beyond the download.
Gandalfone holds the better App Store score, 3.6 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SMS Shield has 138 ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 17% of SMS Shield's written reviews are positive against 62% of Gandalfone's.
SMS Shield ships an update fortnightly, Gandalfone every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SMS Shield | Gandalfone |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.2 (138 ratings) | 3.6 (17 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 16.7% of reviews | 61.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 138 — better | 17 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Taphive GmbH | Audrey SOBGOU ZEBAZE |
Customer experience
SMS Shield
Gandalfone
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
Gandalfone
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
SMS Shield
- Classic7 Days trial$0.991 Month
- Silver7 Days trial$3.996 Months
- Gold7 Days trial$8.491 Year
Gandalfone
No in-app purchases








