Comparison

TextSieve vs Sift

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ€” with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

TextSieve

Features
Read full description

TextSieve helps you filter spam, scam, and unwanted text messages with private, customizable rules that run on your iPhone. Your messages stay on your device. TextSieve does not collect personal information, does not upload SMS content, does not require an account, does not show ads, and does not use advertising or tracking SDKs. Built for common U.S. text spam and scam patterns, TextSieve includes local rules for package delivery scams, unpaid toll notices, bank phishing alerts, verification-code phishing, utility shutoff scams, suspicious links, investment scams, adult spam, political texts, and marketing messages. Customize your protection: - Turn filtering categories on or off - Add trusted senders to an allow list - Block unwanted senders - Add keywords that should always be allowed - Add keywords that should be filtered - Test sample messages locally before changing your setup - Import and export your rules as a local JSON backup - Reset to the built-in rule set at any time TextSieve is designed for people who want control without giving up privacy. Rules are stored locally, filtering happens locally, and your message content is not sent to a server. To enable SMS filtering, install TextSieve, then open iPhone Settings > Apps > Messages > Unknown & Spam. Turn on Filter Unknown Senders and select TextSieve as your SMS filter. Filtering depends on your rules and iOS message filtering behavior. Always review important messages carefully before taking action.

About

Sift

Features
Read full description

Sift is a privacy-first SMS filtering app for iPhone, built to make your inbox quieter and easier to control. Sift uses the iOS message filtering extension to classify junk, promotions, and important notifications directly on your device. By default, filtering does not send message contents to a server. Your custom rules, local statistics, and on-device personalization stay on the device. Key features - On-device SMS classification for spam, promotions, verification codes, delivery updates, banking notices, travel alerts, and more - Custom sender or message-body rules - Category mapping that redirects selected categories to Promotions or Junk - Private statistics that count categories without storing message text - Optional sample contribution with an on-device redaction preview, export, and deletion controls - Sift Premium: a one-time purchase that unlocks an on-demand multilingual Transformer model Sift is not a fraud-prevention guarantee. SMS classification is probabilistic and can make mistakes. For payments, accounts, verification codes, or other important messages, always verify the original message and official channels.

Screenshots

TextSieve3 screens
Sift4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Sift at Free against TextSieve's $3.99. Sift also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). TextSieve's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Sift is free to download; TextSieve costs $3.99 up front. Sift sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. TextSieve asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
TextSieve versus Sift: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTextSieveSift
Price$3.99Free โ€” better
Update frequencyโ€”Every 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS26.018.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size1 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerๆ–ฐๆตฉ ้™ˆๆบ้น ๅป–

In-app purchases

None

TextSieve

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Sift

One-time1
  • Sift Premium$0.99

Questions

Is TextSieve free?
TextSieve costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sift free?
Sift is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do TextSieve or Sift have ads?
Neither TextSieve nor Sift shows ads.

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