Apple’s iMessage is super popular, with over a billion people using it. It came out in 2011 and is built right into Apple gadgets, so if you’ve got an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you can easily send texts, photos, videos, and more to your friends, no matter what device they’re using.
Over time, Apple’s added loads of cool stuff to the Messages app. You might use some of them all the time, but there are others that you might not even know about. Here are a few of our favorite secret iMessage features – and ones you should definitely check out if you haven’t already.
Finding and recovering deleted messages
Ever deleted a message thread in iMessage by mistake? It’s a pain, but there’s a fix. On your iPhone, you can see messages you’ve recently deleted for up to 40 days before they’re gone for good. If you move fast, you can get back those messages you thought were lost forever.
To get back deleted messages on your iPhone, go to the Messages app and hit the Edit button in the top-left corner. Then, tap on Show Recently Deleted. There, you’ll see a list of threads you’ve deleted and how many messages were in each one.
Even though you can’t read the thread from this page, you can get it back by tapping the circle to the left and choosing Recover at the bottom of the screen. Once you do that, the messages will be back on your main messages page. Or, if you want to get back all your deleted messages at once, just tap Recover All.
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Shifting keyboard as per convenience
There might be times when it’s not easy to type on your iPhone’s keyboard with both hands, like when you’ve only got one hand free. That’s when the one-handed keyboard comes in super handy.
Open the Messages app on your iPhone and start typing. Then, tap and hold the Smiley icon at the bottom left of the keyboard to get to the keyboard settings. Pick the option to move the keyboard to the left or right side of the screen, depending on which hand you’re using. This way, you can type easily with just one hand. And remember, you can use this trick anywhere you’re typing on your device, not just in the Messages app.
I hope this list of sneaky iMessage tricks gives you something fun to try or reminds you of a cool feature you might have forgotten about. The Messages app is loaded with awesome stuff, so go ahead and enjoy it, whether you’re rocking an iPhone 15 Pro or any other Apple gadget.
Screen effects for added impact
Sometimes, words alone just don’t cut it when you’re trying to get your point across. That’s where screen effects come in handy. These tools have been around for a while and include things like bubble effects, full-screen effects, camera effects, and more.
To send a message with a screen effect, hold down the Send button instead of just tapping it. This will show you two options: Bubble and Screen effects. You can use these to send a message with your bubble slamming into the screen, a cool firework effect, and more. Just remember, only other iMessage users will see these effects, so they won’t work if you’re sending them to someone with an Android phone.
Mark read messages as unread
We all get tons of messages every day, and when we see a new one, we usually want to check it out right away. But sometimes, those messages need a response, and if we don’t reply right away, we might forget about them. The problem is, just opening a message can make it easy to forget to reply later, especially if we’ve got a lot of other stuff going on.
If you want to make sure you don’t miss any important messages, you can mark them as unread. This way, they’ll stand out from the rest and remind you to deal with them later. To do this on your iPhone, just long-press on the message, then choose “Mark as Unread” from the menu that pops up. Simple, right? And you’ll know a message is unread because there’ll be a little dot on the left side.
Pin important messages
With iMessage, you can chat with both individuals and groups. But sometimes, it’s hard to keep track of important conversations or specific content, especially when you’re getting messages from lots of different places, like companies or organizations. That’s where message pinning comes in.
This feature lets you save important chats or specific content at the top of your Messages app so you can find them easily. And starting with iOS 14, Apple lets you pin up to nine conversations at the top of the Messages app. To pin a conversation, just drag and drop it to the top of the Messages app. Or, you can long-press on the conversation and choose “Pin” from the menu that pops up. Easy peasy!
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Shake to undo what’s written
If you write a message and decide you don’t like it, you can delete it completely. Just give your iPhone a shake, and then follow the instructions on the screen.
This feature works just like you’d think, but it doesn’t work after you’ve already sent the message. So, shaking your iPhone won’t unsend the message. However, there’s a way to do this if you’re sending a message to another Apple user and it’s been less than 15 minutes since you sent it.
Create message threads and tags
Since iOS 14, Apple lets you reply directly to a message in a conversation. This means you can highlight specific messages or people, which is super useful in busy group chats.
To reply to a specific message in a conversation, go into the chat, find the message bubble you want to reply to, and hold it down. Then, tap the Reply button. Type your message as usual and hit Send. Easy peasy! When you reply this way, you can also tag a specific person by typing their name. If they’re part of the thread, they’ll get a notification on their device.
