How to Unsend a Message on Your iPhone—the Easiest Way!

We have all been in a situation where we sent a text and instantly regretted it or made an embarrassing typo that our friends still laugh about. This uncomfortable situation has become a thing of the past! As long as you realize your mistake within two minutes of sending a text, I'll teach you how to unsend iMessages.

Why You'll Love This Tip

• Learn how to unsend an iMessage you wish you hadn't sent, and avoid conflict, confusion, or embarrassment.
• You can only unsend iMessages, not messages sent to a non-Apple phone.
• To unsend iMessages, touch and hold the message you want to retract, and tap Undo Send. You'll receive a notification that the message was unsent.

How to Unsend an iMessage on Your iPhone

If you ever find yourself thinking, "Whoops," after sending a text, Apple has a solution. Here's how to unsend an iMessage within the first two minutes of sending it. Keep in mind that when you use this feature, the recipient will be able to see that you unsent the message. They just won't be able to see what the text said.

1. Open the Messages app and open a conversation thread. Remember that you need to do this within two minutes of sending the message.
2. Tap and hold the text message you wish to delete.
3. Tap Undo Send.
4. Both you and the recipient will see a small message that you unsent the text (but neither of you will be able to see the content of the message).

Voila! That's how to unsend a text message! Remember that you have to act within two minutes of sending a text message to unsend it. You can't unsend older messages. Please keep in mind that this won't work with Android phones or iPhones running an older operating system (iOS 15 and earlier). You may be wondering if there is any way for the recipient to still read the deleted message. There are a few scenarios where the text you unsent can be read. Find out how recipients can still see the unsent message.

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