How to Unsend and Edit Messages in iOS 16
whether you have sent a regrettable message or the victim of an embarrassing autocorrect fails, texting can sometimes be difficult. Either way, iOS 16 now lets you undo a send and Edit your texts in messages. Of course, there are a few caveats – including time limits – but these are still excellent long-overdue features. Here’s how to use it.
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For a full list of key new features, including downloading Apple’s latest operating system, see our iOS 16 roundup.
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How to send back messages
Apple via Brenda Stolyar
If you want to retract a message, it’s very important to remember that you only have a two-minute window to do so. Easy long press In the message, tap Undo Send, and voila! You’ll immediately see an animation of your message exploding into small pieces before completely disappearing.
While the other person won’t (most likely) see the text, both parties will see a notification that a message has been deleted in the message window. Those sending the text will see a line that reads “You didn’t send a message.” Meanwhile, those who received the text will see a warning that reads “[Insert Your Contact Name Here] Message unsent.”
However, the feature only works successfully if both people are running iOS 16 on their iPhones. If you unsend a message while texting someone with iOS 15, the text will disappear from your phone but remain on the other person’s device. You will also receive a notification that says “You didn’t send a message. [Insert contact name here] the message may continue to appear on devices that have not updated the software.”
How to edit messages
Apple via Brenda Stolyar
To edit a message long press on the text and tap on it To edit. From there, a small text box will appear where you can rewrite the entire message or correct a typo. When you’re done, tap blue tick right and the edited message is displayed. Whenever a text is changed, you see a blue “Processed” label underneath. Tapping it will display all edit history (based on how many times it’s been edited) in chronological order.
As with the retract message feature, it only works if both you and the person you’re texting are using iOS 16. If someone is using iOS 15, they’ll get a message that says “Edited on [insert the new edited message]’ under the original message.
It’s worth noting that editing messages is also time-limited. You have 15 minutes to edit a text, but you can only change it five times in total. So you should choose these edits carefully.