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How to Undo Send and Delete an iMessage

28th August 2022

1:14

iPhone | QuickTips

| Messages
iphone-notch
iPhone 13 Pro
IOS_16_icon copy
iOS 16
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Jacob Woolcock

28th August 2022

Jacob Woolcock

219 views

1:14

| Messages
iphone-notch
iPhone 13 Pro
IOS_16_icon copy
iOS 16

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Description

With iOS 16 you can easily undo sending an iMessage, which will immediately delete it from the intended recipients device – with no trace of what the original message said. You can use this simple feature to recover from those embarrassing moments when you accidentally text the wrong person, or when you make an awkward typo that you want to rectify without them seeing! This short how-to video will explain how to do this and the limitations that Apple has put in place for the feature.

Transcript

Everyone does it, we’ll send a message to the wrong person or a message saying the completely wrong thing!

Well now with iOS 16 you can fix that mistake by ‘unsending’ your message.

So here I’ve got a conversation with my partner, and she very simply asked if I want to buy any shopping for tea.

When you send a message that you don’t mean to send, all you have to do is to tap and hold the blue bubble and press Undo Send.

Now, you can do this for up to two minutes after sending a message.

This will then leave a little message on the screen that says that you’ve unsent a message, but it won’t show either yourself or the recipient what the message said.

You have to do this within two minutes of originally sending the message – and be warned…

If your recipients already read the message it will not be erased from their memory! They’ll know what was there.

Not only will this delete the message from the messages thread, but if the recipient had a notification come up about the message and they haven’t opened it yet it will delete that notification for you as well.

But be warned if your recipient is using a device before iOS 16 they’re going to see this instead – and the message won’t be deleted.

So make sure your recipient is using iOS 16 for this feature to work.

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About Messages
The Messages app is Apple's messaging platform that enables users to send and receive text messages, photos, videos, and other multimedia content. It supports both iMessage for Apple devices and SMS/MMS for other devices, offering features like group chats, Memoji, and end-to-end encryption for secure communication.
IOS_16_icon copy

Video Details

This QuickTip video was recorded on an iPhone 13 Pro
running iOS 16.

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All of my content is completely free to watch. However, to create these videos I require a steady stream of caffeine!  If you’ve found this QuickTip helpful then please do consider buying me a coffee. Thank you.

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Additional Information

The content used in this video is intended for educational and informational purposes only. All rights to the images, music, clips, and other media used belong to their respective owners. I do not claim ownership over any third-party content used. This video has not been authorised, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc.

iPhone, iPad and iPadOS are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions. iOS is a registered trademark of Cisco Systems Inc. Whilst I have done my best to list all applicable trademarks for this video, in the (hopefully unlikely) event that I have missed any you can find a full list of trademarks registered to Apple Inc. here.

Finally, please note that whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information contained within this video was correct at time of publication, please be aware that as future updates and software changes occur some or all elements of this video may become outdated. I will endeavour to remove videos which are completely obsolete so as not to cause confusion!

Check out my new iOS 18 Book!

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