Key Takeaways
- Make the most of iMessage with tricks such as replying to specific messages easily.
- Pin favorite contacts for quick access in Messages, making it easier to manage conversations.
- Use features like sharing locations, sending Animojis, and dictating messages for more personalized interactions.
Messages is Apple’s chat app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and it’s not just for sending texts and iMessages. There are many features within the app, and more arrived iOS 17 too. But, many of Apple’s biggest Messages features are hidden in swipe gestures or buried inside the Settings app. Understanding a few key iMessage tips and tricks can both save time and limit unwanted interruptions.
How to remove yourself from group texts on iPhone and Android
Save your friendships — here’s how to quickly remove yourself, mute, or block a group text.
Messages can be used across multiple devices, syncing between them all when signed into the same Apple ID. That means that, while most will use these tips on an iPhone, many of the tricks below work with your iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch too. Here are our best tips and tricks to help you get the most out of Apple’s messaging platform.
1 Use replies to create different threads in the same conversation
How to reply to a specific message
Messages include a reply feature that can make it easier to follow different threads within the same conversation.
-
Open
Messages
. - Swipe left to right on a message.
- Enter your message.
-
Tap the
Send
button.
Or:
-
Open
Messages
. - Tap and hold a message.
-
Tap
Reply
. - Enter your message.
-
Tap the
Send
button.
2 Improve privacy by turning off read receipts
How to turn off read receipts for a specific contact on iMessage
Like many modern chat platforms, iMessage offers read receipts. And while it can be a useful way to let friends and family know you’ve seen their text, you may not want everyone to have that privilege. To disable read receipts for a specific contact:
-
Open
Messages
. - Tap on the message thread of the person you want to turn read receipts off for.
- Tap the contact name at the top of the interface.
-
Toggle off
Send Read Receipts
.
Siri will read your texts to you, you just have to ask. Try saying, “Hey Siri, read my messages.”
Designating your favorite people keeps them at the top of the Messages app
If you message with a friend or family member frequently, you can pin their name and photo to the top of Messages for easy access. As an added bonus, conversations with your besties won’t get lost when other people message you.
- Tap and hold the message thread associated with the person you want to pin.
-
Select
Pin
. -
To unpin a conversation, tap and hold the photo belonging to the person you want to remove from your favorites and tap
Unpin
.
You can pin up to six message threads. You can also add and remove pins by tapping Edit at the top of the main Messages interface and selecting Edit Pins.
4 Customize iMessage apps
Prioritize your most-used iMessage tools to access them in fewer taps
You probably don’t need an explanation on how to send photos in Messages, but what you might not know is that iOS 17 introduced a shortcut that will save you multiple taps the next time you want to send your latest snaps to a contact. When sending a photo, instead of tapping “+”, tap and hold the button. Doing so will automatically bring up your camera roll and image picker. You can also double-tap the “+” icon to jump directly to the second page of iMessages Apps menu. It’s also possible to edit the order in which iMessage apps appear. Here’s how:
-
Open the
Messages
app. - Select a thread.
-
Tap the ”
+
” button. - Tap, hold, and drag the app you want to move up or down the list.
- To move an app between pages, tap, hold and drag it to the bottom or top of the current app list.
You can also remove apps from the list. Here’s how:
-
Open the
Settings
app on your iPhone. -
Tap
Messages
. -
Select
iMessage Apps. - Toggle off any apps you don’t want to appear in your iMessage Apps list.
5 Silence one conversation, not everyone
How to silence notifications from a specific message thread
Sometimes you want to prevent someone from blowing up your iPhone, without silencing your phone completely. Here’s how:
-
Open the
Messages
app. -
Swipe right to left
on the message thread you want mute. -
Tap the
Bell
icon.
To turn alerts back on, swipe right to left on the message thread again and tap the bell symbol again.
6 Share your location
How to share your current location with a contact in iMessage
We’ve all been there. You’re waiting to meet a friend and the two of you can’t find one another. The next time you find yourself in that situation, instead of sending a flurry of texts attempting to describe where you are, share your location. There are two ways to do this:
-
Open
Messages
. - Tap on the message thread of the person or group you want to share your location with.
-
Tap the ”
+
” icon. -
Select
Location
. -
Tap the
Send
button.
Or:
-
Open
Messages
. - Tap on the message thread of the person or group you want to share your location with.
- Tap on the profile profile of the person or group.
-
Tap
Share My Location
. -
Select
For
1 hour
,
Until End of Day
or
Indefinitely
.
If you select ‘Share Indefinitely,’ you’ll appear in that contact’s Find My app, and they will also see your location at the top of their display when they tap on the information symbol under your contact name in your message thread in their Messages app.
7 Customize your name and photo
How to edit your name and photo in iMessage
With iOS 17, Apple revamped the operating system to give users more control over how their contact card appears when they text or call someone. Incidentally, the easiest way to edit your card is through Messages. Here’s how:
-
Open the
Messages
app.
-
Tap
Edit
. -
Select
Name and Photo
. -
Tap
Edit
. - Choose your photo by taking an image, selecting a Memoji, selecting Monogram or choosing from your Photo Library.
If you don’t want iOS 17 to share your name and photo automatically with contacts, tap the dropdown menu next to Share Automatically and select Always Ask.
8 Create and send art to your friends
How to handwrite a message in iMessage
Did you know you can use Messages to send handwritten notes to your friends and family? It’s not the most practical way to use the app, but it does add a bit of humanity and charm to your messages.
-
Open the
Messages
app. - Tap on the message thread of the person you want to send a handwritten message to.
- Turn your iPhone horizontal.
-
Tap the
squiggly line
in the bottom right corner of the keyboard. - Start drawing or select one of the pre-written messages.
-
Tap
Done. - Tap on the arrow to send.
9 Clear the clutter by quickly deleting messages
How to delete multiple message threads in iMessage
Most iPhone users know how to delete single conversation threads in Messages, but if I had to take a guess, a lot of people don’t know they can delete multiple ones at once to save time.
-
Open the
Messages
app. -
Tap
Edit
. -
Tap
Select Messages
. - Select the message threads you want to delete.
-
Tap
Delete
.
Instead of Delete, you can tap Read All to mark a selection of messages as read.
10 Start a FaceTime right from Messages
How to make a FaceTime call from iMessage
If you’re chatting with someone and want to jump on a FaceTime call with them, you don’t need to open the FaceTime app. Instead, you can call them directly from Messages.
-
Open the
Messages
app. - Tap on the message thread of the person you want to FaceTime.
-
Tap on the
FaceTime icon
in the top right corner, and select
FaceTime Audio
or
FaceTime Video
.
The option to start a FaceTime call directly from Messages will only appear if the person you are trying to call has an Apple device connected to iMessage.
11 Quickly find old photos and attachments
How to find old photos, links and attachments on iMessage
Be honest, you’ve probably sent too much time scrolling endlessly through a message thread to find an image or link someone sent you in the past. There’s a more efficient way to find old attachments.
-
Open the
Messages
app. -
Tap on the
message thread
of the person you want to see the images and attachments sent from and to you. -
Tap on the
contact name
at the top of the message thread. - Scroll down and you’ll see Photos, links and attachments appear at the bottom.
How to edit and unsend iMessage text messages on your iPhone
iOS 16 introduced several upgrades to Apple’s Messages app, such as the ability to edit and unsend iMessages. Here’s how that works.
Messages include a built-in search feature you can use to locate specific attachments. Just tap the search bar at the top of the app’s main interface and type out what you’re trying to find.
12 Use talk-to-text
How to dictate a message in iMessage
You can talk instead of typing out a text; here’s how:
-
Open the
Messages
app. -
Tap on the message thread
of the person you want to send a message to or start a new message. -
Tap on the
microphone icon
in the bottom right corner of the app under the keyboard. - Start talking and what you say will start to appear in the message box above the keyboard.
-
Press the mic icon
again in the bottom right corner to stop the dictation.
You can say things like “Full Stop” and “Comma” for punctuation, or you can add it before you hit the arrow to send the message.
13 Tap the arrow to forward messages
How to forward an individual message in a message thread iMessage
You don’t have to copy-paste to repeat the same data to friends — use the forward tool instead:
-
Open the
Messages app
. -
Open the message thread
you want to forward an individual message from. -
Press and hold
the individual message you want to forward. -
Tap More
at the bottom of your screen. - Select any other messages you want to forward, if any.
-
Select the curved arrow
in the bottom right of the screen.
The contents of the forwarded message, or messages, will then appear in a new message where you can add a recipient’s name at the top and hit the arrow on the right of the message box to send.
14 Customize emojis with your face
How to send an Animoji on iMessage
Using the iPhone’s camera, you can customize your Memoji to mimic your expression in a short video, called an Animoji:
-
Open the
Messages app
. -
Tap on the message thread
of the person you want to send an
Animoji
to, or create a new message. -
Press the “+”
to the left of the input field. -
Tap on
“More.” -
Select the
Animoji icon
(Memoji with yellow frame). -
Scroll horizontally to
select the Animoji
you want to send. - Bring your face into view.
-
Press and hold the red button
in the bottom right corner of the Animoji to record a message up to 30 seconds long. -
Press the arrow
to send when you’re happy.
What are Memoji? How to create an Animoji that looks just like you
Memoji allow you to create an avatar that tracks your facial movements like Animoji, but they look like you. Here’s what you need to know.
15 Or quickly send pre-made Memojis
How to send an Memoji on iMessage
Don’t have the time for a custom Animoji? Memojis are another way to quickly customize your messages:
-
Open the
Messages app
. -
Tap on the message thread
of the person you want to send an
Memoji
to, or create a new message. -
Tap on the “+”
to the left of the input field. -
Tap on
More. -
Select the
Animoji/Memoji icon. -
Select your Memoji
or press the three dots in the circle to create a new Memoji. -
Press the
arrow
to send.
16 Tap for fast reactions
How to react to an individual message in iMessage
-
Open the
Messages app
. -
Tap on the message thread
of the person who sent you the individual message you want to ‘react’ to. -
Press and hold
the individual message you want to react to. - Select between a heart, thumbs up, thumbs down, Haha, double exclamation mark or question mark.
17 Troubleshoot a failed iMessage
How to send a message as SMS if iMessage isn’t available
-
Open
Settings. -
Scroll down to
Messages. -
Toggle on
Send as SMS.
18 Automatically playback audio messages
How to hear audio messages quickly on iMessage
-
Open
Settings. -
Scroll down to
Messages. -
Scroll down to the
Audio Messages section. -
Toggle on Raise to Listen.
When on, audio messages will be played as soon as you raise your iPhone to your ear. You can also choose to have them transcribed with iOS 17 rather than listening to them.
19 Ensure you receive photos from Android phones
How to turn on or off MMS messaging on Apple Messages
Like SMS, MMS is a multi-media messaging format — if this is turned off, you may not be receiving images that aren’t sent from a device using iMessage. If you want to make sure you always receive picture messages when they aren’t sent through iMessage, you can toggle this feature on.
-
Open
Settings. -
Scroll down to
Messages. -
Scroll down to
SMS/MMS section. -
Toggle MMS Messaging
on, or off depending on your preference.
20 Show previews of your texts on your lock screen
How to turn previews on or off for iMessage
-
Open
Settings. -
Scroll down to
Notifications. -
Scroll down to
Messages. - Scroll down to the Lock Screen Appearance section.
-
Tap on
Show Previews. -
Choose between
Always, When Unlocked or Never.