This could definitely come in handy.
As outlined on its developer webpage, iOS 12 will include a notable update for handling spam messages and calls. That being said, app makers can now create an app extension that allows users to report unwanted messages and calls as spam.
The documentation cites that the feature will allow developers to build extensions that can add an “Unwanted Communication” feature that could later be enabled by the user in iOS 12’s Settings.
When enabled, users would be able to swipe left on an item in the “Recents” tab of the Phone app to reveal a new “Report” option. In the Messages app, SMS messages can be reported by a similar swipe left on the thread or a long-press on the message itself.
Apple defined the function as such:
To report SMS messages and calls, the user must enable an Unwanted Communication extension in the Settings app. They can only enable one Unwanted Communication extension at a time.
In order to report calls, the user swipes left on an item in the Recents list and selects Report. For SMS messages, they press the Report Messages button when it appears in the Messages transcript. Users can also select messages by long-pressing a message and selecting additional messages, then selecting Report Messages.
When the user reports an SMS message or call, the system launches your Unwanted Communication extension. Your extension gathers additional information from the user, before deciding whether to report or block the number, as shown in Figure 1.
The significant thing is that this won’t be a first-party feature from Apple, but will rely on developers and third parties to build it out. This platform also only applies to SMS messages and calls – iMessage spam reporting has been available for a while.
iOS 12 is expected to be released sometime this fall.
Via 9to5Mac and developer.apple.com