Apple 's next update for iPhones, iOS 26, is raising concerns among America’s Republican Party members, a report claims. The members of the US political party to which President Donald Trump is affiliated reportedly believe that the upcoming iPhone update will disproportionately affect conservative fundraising and voter outreach efforts. The iOS 26 update, scheduled to roll out in September, will feature an updated text filtering system that automatically directs messages from unknown numbers into a separate folder without notifying the recipient. According to leaders from American Made Media Company, the parent of Launchpad Strategies, which was the exclusive digital company for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, this feature could significantly impact outreach campaigns that rely on text messaging to communicate with new or potential voters. However, the update will allow text messages from contacts already saved on a user's phone to continue functioning as usual.
What concerns do Republicans have with Apple’s next iPhone update
In an interview with Fox News, Sean Dollman, the founding partner of American Made Media Company, said, “It’s no surprise that Big Tech wants to stop Donald Trump and other Republicans from communicating with people, because they’ve tried every other method to interfere already. Big Tech has suppressed him, suspended him, and banned him outright. And now they’re trying to make it so he can’t text anybody either. But MAGA won’t be stopped, and MAGA will always find a way.”
According to political fundraisers, the upcoming iOS 26 update could reshape election cycles, as texts about voter registration and campaign events will also be redirected into a new folder. Republicans, who relied on text campaigns at nearly twice the rate of Democrats during the 2024 cycle, could be most affected when the change rolls out in September, just as midterm campaigning intensifies.
The filtration system is expected to extend well beyond politics, potentially capturing texts about everyday matters, such as doctor appointments, if they come from unsaved numbers. In July, the National Republican Senate Committee also reportedly warned in an internal memo that the iOS update could cost Republicans over $25 million in donations.
Apple has long offered message filtering for unknown senders in iOS, but the feature is optional and must be enabled in settings. The new iOS 26 update, now in public beta testing, renames the feature “Screen Unknown Senders” and will continue to move messages from numbers not saved or previously engaged with into a separate folder.
However, with this update, visibility of messages will improve as filtered texts will appear under a new button at the top of the Messages app, showing a blue badge with the number of unread messages from unknown senders.
Republican fundraisers fear a repeat of the 2022 Gmail controversy , when a study found most Democratic campaign emails reached inboxes while over two-thirds of Republican emails were marked as spam. According to GOP committees, that filtering cost Republican candidates an estimated $2 billion in donations between 2019 and 2022.
What concerns do Republicans have with Apple’s next iPhone update
In an interview with Fox News, Sean Dollman, the founding partner of American Made Media Company, said, “It’s no surprise that Big Tech wants to stop Donald Trump and other Republicans from communicating with people, because they’ve tried every other method to interfere already. Big Tech has suppressed him, suspended him, and banned him outright. And now they’re trying to make it so he can’t text anybody either. But MAGA won’t be stopped, and MAGA will always find a way.”
According to political fundraisers, the upcoming iOS 26 update could reshape election cycles, as texts about voter registration and campaign events will also be redirected into a new folder. Republicans, who relied on text campaigns at nearly twice the rate of Democrats during the 2024 cycle, could be most affected when the change rolls out in September, just as midterm campaigning intensifies.
The filtration system is expected to extend well beyond politics, potentially capturing texts about everyday matters, such as doctor appointments, if they come from unsaved numbers. In July, the National Republican Senate Committee also reportedly warned in an internal memo that the iOS update could cost Republicans over $25 million in donations.
Apple has long offered message filtering for unknown senders in iOS, but the feature is optional and must be enabled in settings. The new iOS 26 update, now in public beta testing, renames the feature “Screen Unknown Senders” and will continue to move messages from numbers not saved or previously engaged with into a separate folder.
However, with this update, visibility of messages will improve as filtered texts will appear under a new button at the top of the Messages app, showing a blue badge with the number of unread messages from unknown senders.
Republican fundraisers fear a repeat of the 2022 Gmail controversy , when a study found most Democratic campaign emails reached inboxes while over two-thirds of Republican emails were marked as spam. According to GOP committees, that filtering cost Republican candidates an estimated $2 billion in donations between 2019 and 2022.
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