To unsend a message on iPhone, touch and hold the message bubble within 2 minutes of sending it, then tap Undo Send. It's removed from your recipient's device, but a note saying you unsent a message appears in both your conversation and theirs.
The catch: it only works with iMessage. You can't unsend or edit SMS, MMS or RCS text messages at all. The person you texted also needs iOS 16, iPadOS 16.1, macOS 13, visionOS 1 or later. If they're on something older, the original message stays in their conversation, and your iPhone tells you they may still see it.
Unsend vs edit vs delete
| Action | Time limit | What the other person sees |
|---|---|---|
| Undo Send | Up to 2 minutes after sending | The message vanishes from their device and a note says you unsent it |
| Edit | Up to 15 minutes, five edits at most | The updated message marked Edited, and they can tap Edited to see earlier versions |
| Delete | Any time | No change. Deleting only removes it from your own devices |
How to unsend a message
- Open the conversation in Messages.
- Touch and hold the message bubble you want to pull back.
- Tap Undo Send, within 2 minutes of sending it.
Any message you remove with Undo Send is permanently deleted. You can't recover it later, so be sure before you tap.
How to edit a sent message
Apple pitches these two tools for exactly two jobs: fixing a typo and pulling back a message you sent to the wrong person. If the message was fine apart from a typo, editing beats unsending, and you get a longer window.
- Select the conversation with the message you want to change.
- Touch and hold the message bubble, then tap Edit.
- Make your changes, then resend it with your edits, or revert to the original.
You can edit a message up to five times within 15 minutes of sending it. The bubble updates on both phones and is marked Edited, and either of you can tap Edited to see what it said before. So don't edit out something you'd rather they never read: the earlier versions are one tap away.
Two more limits. If the person you're texting is on an older operating system, they get follow-up messages starting with Edited to, followed by your new wording in quotation marks. And in a group chat, only iMessage users see your edits.
What deleting does, and what it doesn't
Deleting isn't unsending. You can delete texts, attachments and whole conversations from your iPhone any time, but it doesn't affect what your recipients see. You can't delete messages for anyone else.
- Open the conversation, touch and hold a message bubble or attachment, then tap More.
- Select the messages or attachments you want to delete, then tap the delete button.
To delete a whole conversation, swipe left on it in the conversation list and tap delete, or touch and hold it and tap Delete. To clear several at once, tap Edit at the top of the list, tap Select Messages and choose them. To clear out photos and videos from a chat, tap the contact or group icon at the top, tap a category such as Photos, tap Edit, then Select, and pick what to remove. To see only one kind of image, use the filter and choose Screenshots, Videos or Photos.
If you use Messages in iCloud, deleting a message or conversation on your iPhone deletes it from all your devices where Messages in iCloud is turned on. It only ever affects devices signed in to your own Apple Account.
How to get a deleted message back
Deleted messages and attachments stay in your Recently Deleted folder for up to 30 days, and you can recover them in that time.
- Open the Messages app.
- In the conversation list, open the menu and tap Recently Deleted.
- Select the conversations whose messages you want to restore, then tap Recover.
With Messages in iCloud on, recovering on your iPhone recovers it on all your devices. You can also clear Recently Deleted early by selecting conversations and tapping Delete, but that can't be undone. Audio messages that expire before you save them can't be recovered either, and you can't recover messages on anyone else's device. One oddity: if you block someone in a conversation that includes non-iMessage participants, then delete and recover that conversation, future messages from the blocked contact aren't automatically deleted. There's a fuller walkthrough in my guide to recovering deleted texts and iMessages.
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Set old messages to clear themselves
If you'd rather your history didn't hang around, go to Settings, tap Apps, tap Messages, scroll down and tap Keep Messages under Message History. You can have messages and attachments removed once they're older than 30 days or a year. Pick anything other than Forever and your conversations, attachments included, are removed automatically on an ongoing basis. If you want everything gone from the phone, not just your messages, that's a job for Erase iPhone instead.
My verdict
I'd read every message once before you hit send, because 2 minutes goes fast and Undo Send won't help on SMS or with someone on an old operating system. For typos, edit instead: you get 15 minutes, but remember they can see the old version. If you've sent something to the wrong person and it's past the window, deleting it on your side changes nothing for them, so a quick follow-up message is the honest fix. And if someone keeps texting you things you'd rather not see, block their number.
Frequently asked questions
How long do you have to unsend a message on iPhone?
Up to 2 minutes after sending it. After that, Undo Send isn't available.
Can you unsend a text message that isn't an iMessage?
No. You can't edit or unsend SMS, MMS or RCS text messages.
Does the other person know you unsent a message?
Yes. A note confirming you unsent the message appears in both conversation transcripts, yours and your recipient's.
Can you recover a message you unsent?
No. Any message you remove from a conversation using Undo Send is permanently deleted.
How many times can you edit an iMessage?
Up to five times within 15 minutes of sending it.
Does deleting a message on iPhone delete it for the other person?
No. Deleting only affects your iPhone and other Apple devices signed in to the same Apple Account. You can't delete messages for anyone else.
