If you’ve ever sent a message that you later regretted or experienced an embarrassing auto-correct fail, you’ll be glad to know that iOS 16 introduced the ability to unsend and edit texts on iMessage. So to answer the question, “Can I unsend a message on iMessage” with IOS 16, the answer is a simple yes. However, there are some limitations, such as a time limit, but these are still great, long-awaited additions. In the meantime, here is a simple guide to help you through the process seamlessly and with other relevant pieces of information you’d need to navigate iMessage with the IOS 16 update.
Overview
While other messaging apps, such as Signal, WhatsApp, and Viber, all have some version of “delete for everyone,” there was nothing you could do about it on iMessage until now other than reply with an “I didn’t mean that!” message.
Apple added a feature to its iMessage chat app in iOS 16 that allows you to unsend and edit a sent message — subject to some conditions, which I’ll explain below.
First and foremost, you should be aware that the process is not intended to be secretive. If you unsend or edit a message, your recipient will be notified if they also have iOS 16. If they are using an older version of iOS and you edit a message, they will simply receive a new version of the message — and unsending will not remove the message from their device.
Can You Unsend an iMessage?
As earlier mentioned, there was no official way for iPhone users to unsend an iMessage or text message once it was delivered to the recipient prior to the release of the iOS 16 beta. However, with the new iOS 16 update, the Messages app receives significant changes, including the ability to edit and unsend an iMessage on iPhone.
“Users can edit or recall a message for up to 15 minutes after sending it, or recover recently deleted messages for up to 30 days after deletion,” according to Apple, which answered one of the most frequently asked iPhone questions: “Will iOS 16 allow you to unsend messages?”
Furthermore, this feature is only available for iMessages, so traditional SMS messages will not have this option. In other words, users can enjoy this feature on the blue bubbles while leaving the green bubbles alone.
How to Unsend a Message
You can unsend a recently sent message for up to two minutes after it was sent.
Hold the message bubble in place, then tap Undo Send.
A note confirming that you unsent the message appears in both your and your recipient’s conversation transcripts.
If the person you’re messaging is using an iOS 16 or later device, iPadOS 16 or later, or a macOS Ventura device, unsending removes the message from their device.
The original message remains in the conversation if the person you’re messaging is using an iOS 15.6 or earlier device, iPadOS 15.6 or earlier, macOS 12 or earlier, or SMS. When you unsend a message, you’re notified that the original message may still be visible to the recipient in the message transcript.
How to Edit a Sent Message
If you discover that you sent a message with an embarrassing misspelled word, don’t despair. The new iMessage editing feature in iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 can be extremely useful.
Simply long-press (iPhone or iPad) or right-click (Mac) the sent message and wait for the options menu to appear, as with the Undo Send feature above. Edit is the one you’re after this time. You can interact with the text in the message by tapping this.
The text will be corrected if you highlight the unwanted word or words and replace them with what you meant to say. To be completely transparent, there will be a notification under the bubble that says Delivered – Edited. You and the recipient can both tap on this to see previous edits.
One thing to keep in mind is that you can only edit a message 15 minutes after sending it, and you can only make five edits to a single message before the option disappears. More than that, and you’ll just have to apologize in a follow-up text.
How to Delete a Message on iMessage
- Long-press on a sent message within two minutes of sending to delete it.
- Long-press the message to reveal it.
- Tap Undo Send from the drop-down menu.
- The message will disappear (in a rather pretty “poof”) and be grayed out on your iMessage screen, with “You unsent a message” beneath it.
You had 15 minutes to unsend your message in the first public beta of this feature. That has now been reduced to two minutes, after which the option will be removed from the drop-down menu.
Will it Work on Older Devices?
Ideally, the recipient should also have an iPhone or iPad running iOS 16.iPadOS 16 and Ventura on a Mac. If they are, editing will function as expected. However, if you attempt to edit a message sent to someone on an older version of iOS/iPadOS or macOS, you will receive an entirely new message prefixed with “Edited to” followed by the new message, while the original, potentially embarrassing, message will remain in the recipient’s inbox.
Where Is the Undo Send Option in the Messages App?
The option to unsend a previously sent message can be found in the context menu. This option is only available for up to 15 minutes after the message is sent. The time limit is applicable to both the Edit and Undo message options. When the timer runs out, the options will be removed from the sent messages.
How to Mark Unread Messages in iOS 16
Not only can you edit and undo sent Apple messages in iOS 16, but you can also mark text messages as unread.
In iOS 16, here’s how to mark messages as unread.
- Launch the Messages app.
- Locate the message list and select the contact whose conversations you want to mark as unread.
- Swipe to the right to mark it as unread.
You have finally unmarked the messages. This conversation is also available in the unread category.
How much time do I have to Unsend a message?
You have 15 minutes to use the Undo send message option and cancel the sent message. The Undo Send option will be removed from your message menu bar after this time.
Do conversation participants become aware of retracted messages?
No, iOS 16 and later users will not be notified of retracted messages. Users with previous iOS versions, on the other hand, can view the message because the OS will not retract the messages.
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