Apple will be automatically sorting unknown texts into a new category in iOS 26. That’s irritating political groups that rely on donations via spam texts. A letter from National Republican Senatorial Committee says it could see $500 million lost in GOP revenue. The letter incorrectly suggests that iOS 26 treats unknown callers as spam, which is a separate filtering category. Instead, it will be treated as “unknown,” which it is if the user has never interacted with the number or if it isn’t in their contacts. That said, the system could certainly lead to users missing the texts — especially less technically sophisticated ones. Unknown texts don’t notify users by default, nor do they place a notification badge on the app icon. These political entities have gone through the trouble of ensuring the laws allow them to text people constantly, and carriers have even allowed the behavior. Apple’s steps to ensure users have some sanity and control over their messaging inbox undercut these efforts. The estimated $25 million revenue hit to the NRSC is certainly not negligible. Whether or not these political entities are acting legally isn’t up for debate, but their necessity certainly is. Especially when a lot of the texts are mostly attempts to trick people into thinking (insert political name) is texting them directly asking for $20.