You Can Now Unsend and Edit Text Messages With iOS 16
Successfully unsending a text in iOS 16 will give you a confirmation in place of your rescinded message.
Apple/Screenshot by James Martin/CNET
This story is part of Focal Point iPhone 2022, CNET’s collection of news, tips and advice around Apple’s most popular product.
iOS 16?is now here and that means you can finally use one of the highly anticipated features we’ve all been looking forward to: Unsending and editing text messages on the?iPhone.?
If you make a grammatical mistake or even text the wrong person, you now have 15 minutes to edit what your message says and two minutes to unsend it and essentially delete the text. Want to know more about how the new iOS 16 feature works? We’ll explain more below.
Read more:?iPhone 14 Preorder Deals Kick Off With Up to $1,000 Off Apple’s Latest iPhone Models
If you haven’t updated to iOS 16 yet, here’s how to download and install it?on your iPhone and iPad. Other?new features on iPhone?include?new lock screen customization options?and?Apple Pay Later.?
Edit messages you’ve already sent
If you use messaging tools like Slack, you’ve likely edited at least one — or 100 — of the messages you’ve sent. Whether you made a typo or your message contains incorrect data, the editing feature is a nice way to make your corrections quickly. With iOS 16, you’ll also be able to edit your messages sent from your iPhone within 15 minutes of sending.
To edit a text message, you’ll need to launch Messages and go into any thread that is using iMessage, which you probably know as blue text. This feature will not work with SMS text messages (green texts). Now, press and hold your finger down on the message you wish to edit. This will bring up the Tapback reactions and the quick action menu. Finally, tap Edit.?
Even if you edit a text message, the recipient will still be able to see any old messages.
Nelson Aguilar/CNET
The text message will then become editable. You can delete the entire message, fix any mistakes or add more text to it. Once you’re finished,?hit the blue checkmark button on the right side to save your edits. You can only edit a single message up to 5 times.
An actionable Edited button will appear underneath your edited text message. The person on the other end will also know that the message has been edited, and if they tap on Edited, all previous versions of your text message will appear above the edited text message, in slightly grayed-out chat bubbles.?
Immediately recall any messages you accidentally sent
Accidental messages happen way too often. Maybe you tapped the send button when you meant to select an emoji. Or perhaps you messaged the wrong person entirely. In either case, you’ll be able to recall those messages with iOS 16. Unlike with the edit message feature, you only have 2 minutes to unsend a text.
To unsend a text message, launch the Messages app, press and hold down on the message (blue text only) you want to unsend, and tap?Undo Send.
The text message will disappear from your thread, on both your end and the recipient’s. A message will appear on your thread, stating that your message has been unsent, but that the recipient may have already seen it.
You only have 2 minutes to unsend a text message.
Nelson Aguilar/CNET
Unfortunately, if the other person is running anything older than iOS 16, the message won’t actually be unsent even though your phone will say that it is.
The recipient will see a gray text status message that says, “[Name] unsent a message” if they’ve already viewed the text. This is similar to the Delete Message feature that apps like WhatsApp and Signal already have, which also show a similar message after a text is recalled.
For more, these are the most annoying iOS 16 features and how to fix them. Also, if you’ve already installed iOS 16 on your phone, do these three things now.