Messaging apps like Telegram and WhatsApp are regularly updated with new features, but Apple’s Messages app gets major updates only once a year, when the new version of iOS comes out. Luckily, this year’s update is a big one: With the launch of iOS 16, we can finally edit and undo sent messages, two features which have been available on other platforms for some time now.
These features aren’t without their asterisks, though, and there are several. For starters, these features apply to iMessages only. SMS (green bubble) texts can’t be edited or unsent, which means any text sent to an Android device is still as permanent as ever. Maybe one day, Apple will adopt RCS, which could allow messages to be unsent and edited across both iOS and Android. For now, iMessage still won’t play nice with Android.
The other caveat: The recipient will still be able to see your original message (mistakes, misstatements, and all) by tapping on the edit history. If you unsend a message, they won’t see it, but they will know you unsent something.
With that out of the way, let’s focus on how these features work, and what they should be used for.
How to edit sent iMessages
When you send an iMessage, you have 15 minutes to edit it. You can edit an iMessage up to five times during those 15 minutes, but once that window closes, the message is locked-in for good. To edit a message, long-press it, then choose “Edit.” Change it to whatever you want. then tap the checkmark. You can also choose the “X” to bring back the original message.
You might be tempted to rely on this edit feature as a saving grace for embarrassing messages you regret sending. Controversial texts are a lot less of a risk when you can quickly edit them should you have second thoughts. However, as noted earlier, Apple didn’t design this feature to work that way. Whenever you edit a message, the new message is branded with an “Edited” tag. Anyone can then tap this tag to see a complete edit history of the message. If you edit the message five times, all five versions of the message will appear here.
Worse yet, anyone not using iOS 16 will see each edit as a new message, with the prefix “Edited to.” Either way, if you change the message to something totally different, everyone will know.
Knowing that, the edit feature is best used to correct typos or other minor mistakes—things you wouldn’t mind your contacts seeing in an edit history. My hope is that the feature puts an end to messages like thus. Like thus. Like THUS. Like this. As funny as they are, you’d probably rather not embarrass yourself.
However, there are times where you really do want to cover your tracks for one reason or another. In those cases, turn to undo send.
How to undo sent iMessages
Undo Send lets you quickly recall a poorly thought-out iMessage. It also comes with a nice animation, as the message bubble bursts in front of you (it’s very Apple). Better yet, it leaves little trace. While the recipient will see an alert that you unsent a message, they won’t be able to see what the message was. I’ll take that trade.
Of course, there are more caveats to consider. You only have two minutes to undo a sent iMessage, as opposed to the 15 minute window provided for editing. It’s also totally realistic for the recipient will have seen the message before you had a chance to undo it, or even screenshot it. And, as with editing iMessages, undoing a sent iMessage requires iOS 16 on all devices connected to the chat. If you undo an iMessage with someone running iOS 15.7 or earlier, they’ll likely still see the message on their end, even if you don’t. (Along with a notification that you tried to delete it.)
All that said, this feature can still be useful. To use it, long-press a message, then choose “Undo Send.” The message will instantly disappear, and leave behind a notification reading: “You unsent a message.” Whatever your reason for undoing a message, don’t be surprised if the other party is curious to know what it said.
This post was originally published in July 2022 and updated on Sept. 15, 2022 with more complete details about how the feature works in the final build of the operating system.