The ability to unsend and edit messages in iMessage on your iPhone is finally a thing with the release of iOS 16. Apple has brought the much-anticipated feature to not just iPhones but also to iPads with iPadOS 16 and Macs with macOS Ventura. If you haven’t updated your device to the latest OS, you can do it right now and start editing or unsending those wrongly sent or embarrassing iMessages.
How to unsend an iMessage on iPhone
First off, unsending messages only works for an iMessage i.e. the ones with blue bubbles. The green-bubbled SMS messages don’t support this feature. Secondly, both you and the recipient should be on iOS 16 for the feature to work perfectly. Thirdly, you can only
With that out of the way, simply follow the steps below to unsend an iMessage on your iPhone:
- Tap and hold the message you want to recall.
- In the options that appear, select Undo Send to delete the message from both the recipient’s feed as well as yours.
- A note will appear in the feed for both you and the recipient indicating that a message was unsent.
The steps to unsend a message are quite similar for an iPad or a Mac. You simply need to bring up the options by either tapping and holding the message or right-clicking on it.
It’s important to note that you can unsend a message only within 2 minutes of sending it. Also, you cannot recover unsent messages as you can do for normally deleted messages from the Recently Deleted section. And any recipient running an older version of iOS or on an Android phone will still be able to see the unsent message.
How to edit an iMessage on iPhone
You can also edit a sent message if you’ve inadvertently committed a typo or mentioned a wrong detail. Editing an iMessage is available only for up to 15 minutes after sending it and you can edit it a maximum of 5 times.
Follow the steps below to edit an iMessage on your iPhone:
- Again, tap and hold the message you want to edit.
- In the options that appear, tap Edit.
- Make the changes you want to and tap the blue checkmark on the right to send the edited message.
- An ‘Edited’ label below the modified message will appear below it and both you and the recipient can tap it to see all the edits in chronological order.
You can use the same steps to edit iMessages on an iPad or a Mac.
Wrapping Up
Unsending or editing a message you didn’t mean to send can be a lifesaver in some situations. With the feature available on all devices on the latest Apple OS, you can make full use of it. It’s always recommended to update your Apple device to the latest OS to benefit from the latest feature and security updates. And if an update happens to brick your phone, you can always book a repair with us to get a seamless diagnosis.
