Tip of the Day: How to Turn on Character Count in Messages

By Sarah Kingsbury Tue, 06/24/2014

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Apple does not limit the character count for iMessages; but if you are sending a message to a non iUser it will be sent as an SMS and will therefore be limited to 160 characters. This means characters over 160 will be sent in a second text or possibly even deleted, depending on your recipient's carrier. To avoid this situation, turn on Character Count so you can always know when you've reached the SMS character limit.

To enable the Character Count setting, Go to Settings>Messages, scroll down to Character Count, and toggle it on.

Now whenever you are composing a message, the number of characters used will appear to the right of the unsent message.

Top image credit: EpicStockMedia/Shutterstock.com

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Sarah Kingsbury

As the Editorial Director at iPhone Life, Sarah Kingsbury manages the online editorial team and oversees all website content. She is a long-time Apple enthusiast who never goes anywhere without her Apple Watch and owns way too many HomePods. Since joining iPhone Life in 2013, Sarah has done everything from writing hundreds of how-to articles to founding the Daily Tip newsletter. She even co-hosted the early episodes of the iPhone Life Podcast. When not at work, Sarah can be found hiking in the mountains and canyons around Las Vegas, where she lives with her partner and dogs.