Connect with us

Massachusetts

How can you stop unwanted political texts? Massachusetts man creates free app to end spam

Published

on

How can you stop unwanted political texts? Massachusetts man creates free app to end spam


BOSTON – It’s election season and people are getting barraged with political text messages. WBZ-TV addressed this issue in May, but a successful business owner from Massachusetts came up with a solution he thinks could solve the problem permanently.

How can you stop political text messages?

During WBZ-TV’s original story, a teenager who is too young to vote was getting harassed by political robotexts.

“They want me to vote. They want me to send money. It’s a lot. They ask me for a lot,” 15-year-old Madison Medina said at the time.

Cyber security expert Peter Tran said people should simply reply “stop” to unsubscribe, then delete and report as junk. 

Advertisement

Even the experts admitted that would slow down, but not stop the avalanche of political texts.

Who is Paul English?

The story prompted many messages from viewers. One of them was from Paul English.

English grew up in West Roxbury, went to UMass and later founded travel behemoth Kayak.com, which was later sold for almost $2 billion in 2012.

“We made a lot of people happy on the day we sold,” English said. “I’ve given away half my Kayak money so far and I’m involved in a lot of non-profits.”

English is still developing apps, including one he believes can solve the problem of political robotexts. His newest creation began when he was at dinner with a friend, Vinayah Ranade.

Advertisement

“My friend gets a political text. He looks at it and says, ‘[Expletive] another political text. We need to do something about this,’” English said.

How does SpamStrike app work?

So English and Ranade co-created “SpamStrike,” an app that claims to block all political texts.

The app keeps a list of keywords that usually pop up, things like candidate names, words like donate, vote and poll. And you can add to the list.

It then uses artificial intelligence to study all of the flagged messages to learn what other words are red flags. In the month the app has been online, it claims to have blocked almost 150,000 texts.

The app only blocks political talk from people not in your contacts. So what happens if there’s a mistake?

Advertisement

“If you go into your messages app there’s a junk folder and you will see SpamStrike listed. Anything we’ve filtered is there. So if you don’t trust it, and you want to see what we’re doing, we don’t delete it. It just goes to your junk folder,” English said.

English said he does not want to make money off the app.

“Right now the idea is end the spam immediately. We are just doing it free, almost think of it as a giveback to the community,” English said.

There are other apps that also block texts. Some cost up to $100 per year.

If you have a question you’d like us to look into, please email questioneverything@cbsboston.com.   

Advertisement



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Massachusetts

Ice covered highways, streets and sidewalks in Boston area rattled nerves during morning commute: “I’m ready for the thaw”

Published

on

Ice covered highways, streets and sidewalks in Boston area rattled nerves during morning commute: “I’m ready for the thaw”


It was a treacherous commute for drivers across Massachusetts Wednesday morning. Ice on roads and highways caused several crashes during rush hour.

In Danvers, 22 miles north of Boston, the ramp from Interstate 95 to Route 1 north was covered in ice, leading to three separate crashes involving twelve cars. Three people were taken to local hospitals.

In Danvers, Mass. the ramp from Interstate 95 to Route 1 north was covered in ice, leading to three separate crashes involving twelve cars on March 4, 2026.

Advertisement

CBS Boston


In Revere, just seven miles north of the city, two tractor-trailers collided on North Shore Road. Police said it will be shut down for most of the day. It’s unclear if this crash was caused by icy conditions.

Forty-four miles west of Boston, a tractor-trailer ran off the westbound side of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Westboro. One person was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester with what were described by the fire department as “non-life threatening injuries.”

The ice wasn’t just a problem for drivers. People walking around Boston were also slipping and sliding Wednesday morning.

“I almost fell at least five times but I didn’t. I don’t know how. I screamed and caught edges,” Swapna Vantzelfde told CBS News Boston about her walk to work in the South End. It took longer than usual.

Advertisement

“The internal streets they just don’t get plowed, the little ones that people live on and then these arteries, the big streets, they’re cleaned a lot better,” she said.

Those on two legs and four were all stepping gingerly across slick spots.

“A little treacherous. Very slick and icy out here,” said a father pushing a stroller. “Sometimes you have something to hold on to, which helps.”

With plenty of snow piled along sidewalks and between parking spots, most people are done with winter.

“I’m over it. I’m ready for the thaw,” said one man. 

Advertisement



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Massachusetts

‘No way to leave’: Mass. families stuck in Middle East amid war in Iran

Published

on

‘No way to leave’: Mass. families stuck in Middle East amid war in Iran


Massachusetts families are stuck in the Middle East amid the war in Iran, and Democratic Sen. Ed Markey says the State Department needs to do more to get them home.

The Trump administration is telling Americans to leave the region, and families would love to, but they haven’t been able to get out.

Stacey Schuhwerk of Hingham has been sheltering in place in a Doha hotel since Saturday.

“We hear the missiles outside,” she said. “We can see them.”

Advertisement

The Hingham mother and her son are among nearly 1,600 Americans trapped in the Middle East with no way to get home.

“Airspace is shut down. There’s no planes,” said Schuhwerk. “There’s no way to leave.”

Flights between Boston and the Middle East are canceled or delayed as travelers express anxiety over the conflict.

At first, U.S. officials told people to shelter in place and register with the State Department — something Schuhwerk did days ago.

“There’s no help there. The last time we called was 20 minutes ago, and they continue to say that ‘We don’t know anything about any plans for government help to get people out,’” she said.

Advertisement

Embassies and consulates across the region — including the U.S. Embassy in Israel — have now suspended services, saying they simply can’t get Americans out.

“They did not have a plan to conduct this war, and they clearly did not have a plan as to how to evacuate innocent families,” Markey said.

The senator says his office is hearing from Massachusetts families, and he’s pressuring the Trump administration to come up with an evacuation plan fast.

“We are going to apply that pressure on the State Department until every American who wants to leave that region is out,” he said.

Back in Doha, Schuhwerk keeps watching the war outside her window.

Advertisement

“The talk here is ‘How much defensive ammunition’s left?’ Good question, you know, because the missiles aren’t stopping,” she said. “So how long are we going to be safe here?”

With no clear end to this conflict, she’s worried she could be stuck there for weeks.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Massachusetts

Snow, ice, rain to impact roads in Massachusetts – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

Published

on

Snow, ice, rain to impact roads in Massachusetts – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News


Happy Tuesday! While today started off dry, we’re already looking at snow out there across the area. While this event will primarily stay as rain on the Cape and islands, it will be an icy mix of snow, ice and rain for the rest of us.

The rain/snow line will continue to advance from the south to the north as the evening progresses. Before the changeover, there will be a quick coating to 2 inches for most of our area.

The threshold between the snow and rain will feature sleet and freezing rain, leading to that icing.

For the rest of the night, there will primarily be rain with continued pockets of freezing rain, leading to increasing spotty ice accretion. Be extremely careful on roads, especially since switching between rain and freezing rain can wash off any road salt.

The rain and freezing rain will exit by 6 a.m. Wednesday, but temperatures will still be close to freezing during the morning commute, so watch out for some spotty black ice.

The rest of Wednesday will be really nice! Highs will warm up to the mid 50s with the help of ample sun.

Thursday we start off in the mid 20s and top off in the mid 40s. We’ll be partly sunny with another chance for some wintry weather Thursday night. This primarily looks like some rain and freezing rain, rather than the triple threat with snow too. We’ll keep an eye on that for you.

That will continue into Friday morning. The rest of Friday: cloudy with a chance for a spot shower and highs cooler again in the upper 30s. Saturday will be dry, breezy and cloudy but gorgeous near 50 degrees! There’s a chance for some rain showers Saturday night. Don’t forget to set your clocks forward an hour before you to go bed!

Sunday we start the day mild in the 40s and make it all the way into the upper 50s with more sun. Monday and Tuesday both look bright and in the 60s! Stay tuned.

Join our Newsletter for the latest news right to your inbox
Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending