# Manage Apple Messages suppressions

A suppression blocks messaging to a specified Apple user ID or phone number within its recorded scope. Use [**Apple Messages > Suppressions**](https://bird.com/dashboard/w/apple-messages/suppressions) to inspect these records before investigating a blocked destination.

Suppressions are separate from conversation status. Ending a suppression does not reopen a conversation the customer closed or grant permission to send an Invitation.

## Inspect the scope and address

Open **Suppressions** and find the customer's recorded handle. Check whether the entry applies to a particular business or **All businesses** in the workspace. A business-specific check can miss a workspace-wide block.

**Apple user ID** refers to the opaque identifier used in an ordinary Apple conversation. **Phone number** refers to a phone-addressed suppression; it does not make that number a valid destination for an ordinary reply. Use the address from the relevant record rather than substituting one type for another.

![Apple Messages suppression list showing the handle, address type, business scope, reason, and End action.](/images/docs/dashboard-apple-suppressions.png)

[View the screenshot at full size](/images/docs/dashboard-apple-suppressions.png).

## Create a suppression

You need permission to manage suppressions.

1. Select **Create suppression**.
2. Under **Scope**, choose the intended business or **All businesses**.
3. Set **Handle type** to **Apple user ID** or **Phone number**.
4. Enter the exact **Handle**. For a phone number, include its country code in E.164 form.
5. Review the address and scope, then select **Create suppression**.

Confirm that the new record appears with the intended scope. Use your team's records to document the customer's request and why the block was added; the creation dialog is not a consent-management system.

## End a suppression

End a suppression when your team has established that the block should be removed. Do not remove a valid customer opt-out to make a failed send pass.

Open the record's actions, choose **End**, review the displayed handle, and select **End suppression**. The record remains in history.

Before sending, check for another active suppression covering the same destination, confirm that the conversation is open, and check that the business can send. A **Draft** business can send in authorized test conversations.

## If sending is still blocked

Open the failed message and read the reason. A closed conversation, unavailable device capability, or business approval problem needs its own correction. Follow [message-failure investigation](/docs/guides/apple-messages/messages#investigate-a-failed-or-uncertain-send) and include the suppression scope when escalating to support.