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

Driver Finds Bullet Lodged In Vehicle After Alleged Road Rage Shooting On Massachusetts Highway, “My Life Could Have Been Taken.”

Published

on

Driver Finds Bullet Lodged In Vehicle After Alleged Road Rage Shooting On Massachusetts Highway, “My Life Could Have Been Taken.”


Updated on: December 15, 2025

A Massachusetts man says he narrowly escaped death after an alleged road rage shooting on I-495 and is now speaking publicly in hopes of generating new leads for investigators.

Steven Burns was driving home from work on Nov. 4, coming through Marlboro, when he noticed a white truck tailgating him on the highway.

Advertisement

Bullet lodged in vehicle after alleged road rage shooting on I-495 in Marlboro, Massachusetts/CBS Boston

“It wasn’t until after I pulled over and actually saw that there was a bullet lodged in my B-frame that I said, ‘wow,’” Burns said. “My life could have been taken in an instant over something as dumb as road rage.”



Source link

Continue Reading

Massachusetts

Mass. snowfall totals: Which communities got the most snow this weekend?

Published

on

Mass. snowfall totals: Which communities got the most snow this weekend?


Snow fell across Massachusetts overnight on Saturday and throughout Sunday morning thanks for a fast-moving low pressure system, according to the National Weather Service.

The snowfall is expected to continue into and through the afternoon in many communities, lasting longer in Bristol, Plymouth, Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket Counties, the weather service said. Southeastern Massachusetts is predicted to see 2 to 4 inches of snow, with cities and towns closest to the coast getting up to 6 inches. A winter weather advisory is set to remain in effect in these counties until 7 p.m. Sunday.

  • Read more: Mass. weather: Snowy Sunday with dangerous, arctic cold to follow

As of the early afternoon on Sunday, no communities had received more than 4 inches, according to the weather service. Falmouth and Dennis recorded getting the most snow so far at 4 inches as of 3:15 p.m.

Here are the snow totals for Massachusetts as of mid-afternoon on Sunday. This article will be updated throughout the day.

4+ inches of snow

3+ inches of snow

  • Bourne
  • Centerville (Barnstable)
  • Hyannis (Barnstable)
  • Mashpee
  • Plymouth
  • Sandwich

2+ inches of snow

  • Acushnet
  • Brewster
  • Chatham
  • Dartmouth
  • East Longmeadow
  • Fairhaven
  • Harwich
  • Kingston
  • Marstons Mills (Barnstable)
  • Mattapoisett
  • Nantucket
  • Oak Bluffs
  • Orange
  • Petersham
  • Sturbridge
  • Truro
  • Vineyard Haven
  • Wareham
  • Warren
  • West Tisbury
  • Yarmouth

1+ inches of snow

  • Acton
  • Ashburnham
  • Barre
  • Bedford
  • Berkley
  • Brighton (Boston)
  • Charlton
  • Chicopee
  • Dennis
  • Dighton
  • Dover
  • Fitchburg
  • Freetown
  • Gardner
  • Grafton
  • Holden
  • Holliston
  • Hubbardston
  • Ipswich
  • Leominster
  • Lexington
  • Lowell
  • Marshfield
  • Milton
  • New Bedford
  • North Attleborough
  • Norton
  • Orleans
  • Osterville (Barnstable)
  • Pepperell
  • Rochester
  • Somerset
  • Swansea
  • Tewksbury
  • Tyngsborough
  • Westborough
  • Westport
  • Wilbraham
  • Wilmington



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Massachusetts

Snow lingers today, below-zero wind chills Monday morning – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

Published

on

Snow lingers today, below-zero wind chills Monday morning – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News


Good morning! We’ve got snow on tap for today, which will linger most of the day and night across southeastern Massachusetts. We’ll dry out in the early evening for most of the rest of eastern Massachusetts, with north central Massachusetts drying out the quickest.

Snow will be widespread throughout the morning and into the early afternoon. As we get to the late afternoon, snow becomes more isolated over central Massachusetts but is still hanging around the coast, southeast Mass. and the Cape and islands.

Into the evening, the snow will become ocean-enhanced over southeast Mass. and the Cape/islands.

That’s where totals will be the highest.

4 to 6 inches of snow is expected there by late Sunday night.

For the rest of us, just a chance for a few inches.

After this storm it’s all about the cold wind. Monday’s lows will drop to the teens with highs in the mid 20s. But a biting wind will make it feel only like the negative single digits in the morning and the teens in the afternoon. Bundle up! At least the sun will be out.

Tuesday is looking mostly sunny and not windy. Lows will drop to the teens with highs in the low 30s. Wednesday, breezy again with a start in the 20s and afternoon temperatures mild in the low 40s. Thursday will be downright warm! We’ll hit the upper 40s with chances for rain in the evening. Friday we’ll reach the low 50s with chances of rain in the morning. Saturday looks dry, partly sunny with highs back to near normal in the mid 30s.

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



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending