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    Phone & Tablet
    Beginner
    4 min read 5 stepsApril 19, 2026Verified April 2026

    How to Edit or Unsend an iMessage on iPhone

    Fix a typo or take back a message you regret — iPhones running iOS 17 or later let you edit within 15 minutes and unsend within 2 minutes.

    At a Glance

    Category
    Phone & Tablet
    Difficulty
    Beginner
    Read Time
    4 min read
    Steps
    5
    Topics covered
    iphone
    imessage
    messages
    ios 16
    edit message
    unsend

    In this guide (5 steps):

    1. 1.Check that you have iOS 17 or later
    2. 2.Open the Messages app and find the message
    3. 3.Press and hold on the message
    4. 4.Edit the message
    5. 5.Unsend the message
    1

    Check that you have iOS 17 or later

    ~20s
    Open Settings, tap "General," then tap "About." Look at the line that says "iOS Version." If the number is 16 or higher (such as 16.6, 17.4, 18.0, etc.), you have access to these features. If your iOS version is lower than 16, go to SettingsGeneralSoftware Update and update your iPhone first.
    2

    Open the Messages app and find the message

    ~16s
    Open the Messages app (the green icon with a speech bubble). Tap on the conversation where the message you want to edit or unsend is located. Find the specific message — it needs to be a blue bubble (iMessage), not green (SMS).
    3

    Press and hold on the message

    ~23s
    Touch and hold your finger on the message bubble for about one second. A menu will appear with reaction options (like thumbs up) and a row of options below. Look for "Edit" and "Undo Send" in that menu.

    Quick Tip

    If you don't see "Undo Send," more than 2 minutes have passed since you sent the message and it's too late to unsend it. "Edit" will disappear after 15 minutes.

    4

    Edit the message

    ~20s
    Tap "Edit" to fix a typo or change what you wrote. The message text will appear in a text box. Make your changes, then tap the blue checkmark button to save and send the edited version. The message will now show an "Edited" label underneath it.

    Quick Tip

    You can edit the same message up to 5 times total within the 15-minute window.

    5

    Unsend the message

    ~26s
    Tap "Undo Send" to remove the message entirely. A pop-up will ask you to confirm. Tap "Undo Send" again to confirm. The message will disappear from the conversation on your screen and the other person's screen. They will see a note that says "[Your name] unsent a message."

    Warning

    Unsending only works within 2 minutes of sending. If the other person already read the message before you unsent it, they've seen the content — the unsend removes it visually but not from their memory.

    You Did It!

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    We've all sent a text with a typo or pressed send before we meant to. If you have an iPhone running iOS 17 or later (that's any iPhone that updated after September 2022), Apple gives you two helpful tools: the ability to edit a message after you send it, and the ability to completely unsend a message.

    Here's what you need to know before you use these features:

    Editing a message:

    You can edit an iMessage up to 5 times within 15 minutes of sending it. After you edit, the message shows an "Edited" label underneath it so the person you're messaging can see it was changed. They can also tap "Edited" to see the message history, showing what it said before.

    Unsending a message:

    You can fully remove a message within 2 minutes of sending it. The message disappears from your conversation, and the other person sees a notice that says a message was unsent. However, if the other person saw the message before you unsent it, they've already read it.

    Important:

    Both features only work with iMessages — the blue bubble messages. They do not work with SMS texts (green bubbles). Also, the person you're messaging needs to be on iOS 17 or later as well for the edit or unsend to fully work on their screen. If they have an older iPhone, they may still see the original message.

    These features are built right into the Messages app and don't require any extra apps or settings to turn on.

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    iphone
    imessage
    messages
    ios 16
    edit message
    unsend

    Official Resources

    Apple Support — iPhoneGoogle Help — AndroidSamsung Support

    Sources used to create and verify this guide. View all sources →

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