Use Messages on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

Stay connected to the conversations that matter the near. Send texts, photos, videos, and more. Then personalize your messages with animated effects, pin your important conversations, send inline replies, and add together mentions.

Ship a bulletin

  1. Open Messages.
  2. Tap the Etch button to showtime a new message. Or go to an existing chat.
  3. Blazon your bulletin, and then tap the Send button send message button.

With iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 and later, you lot tin as well utilize inline replies and mentions to call attention to specific letters and people within the letters.

Answer from the Lock Screen

  1. From the Lock Screen, touch and hold the notification that y'all desire to respond to. Or depending on your device, you lot might demand to swipe left over the notification and tap View.*
  2. Type your message.
  3. Tap the Send button send message button.

If you take an iPhone X or later, or an iPad with Face ID, and can't reply to a message from the Lock Screen, get to Settings > Face up ID & Passcode, and turn on Reply with Message. If y'all have an iPhone SE (2d generation), iPhone eight or earlier, or an iPad, go to Settings > Touch ID & Passcode > Let Access When Locked, and turn on Answer with Message.

* Touch and hold is bachelor on most devices that support iOS thirteen and subsequently, or iPadOS. On iPhone SE (2nd generation), you'll need to swipe left on the notification, then tap View to respond to a bulletin from the Lock Screen.

Use Shared with You

With iOS xv and iPadOS 15, content that's shared with yous in the Messages app is automatically organized in a Shared with Y'all section in the corresponding app. Shared with Yous works with Photos, Safari, News, Music, Podcasts, and the Apple TV app.

Content that's shared with you is labeled in the respective app, so yous tin can see who shared the content with you. With a uncomplicated tap on the proper name, you can easily reply to the share and go on the conversation in Messages.

To disable Automated Sharing or a certain app from using Shared with You, go to Settings > Messages > Shared with Yous, and plow off Automated Sharing or the app.

Learn more about finding and sharing content with Shared with You lot.

iPhone showing how to pin a message by swiping left over the message.

Pin important conversations

With Letters in iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 and later, you can pin up to nine conversations. When y'all pin a conversation it shows upwards at the top of the Messages app, then it's easy to get to.

To pin a conversation, open Messages, then swipe right over the conversation. Or follow these steps:

  1. Open Messages, and so tap Edit or the More button .
  2. Tap Edit Pins , then tap the Pin button .
  3. Tap Washed.

iPhone showing how to change your name or photo in Messages.

Change your name and photograph

  1. Open up Messages and tap Edit in the upper-left corner.
  2. Tap Edit Name and Photo Tap Edit Name and Photo.
  3. Edit your proper noun. Or tap the image circle to choose an paradigm, photograph, emoji, or Memoji.
  4. Tap Washed.

Your name and photo can be shared with anyone using iMessage, simply you'll be asked to confirm that you desire to share with someone when sending or replying to a new message. You tin can also turn sharing on and off. Just complete steps 1-ii, and turn Name and Photo Sharing on or off.

Delete a message or conversation

When you delete a message or conversation, y'all can't get it back. So make certain that yous salvage important information from your messages.

To delete a unmarried message:

  1. Within a conversation, touch and hold the bulletin bubble to open an options menu.
  2. Tap More than .
  3. Tap the Trash button , then tap Delete Message.

To delete a chat:

  1. Affect and concur the conversation to open an options carte du jour.
  2. Tap Delete .
  3. Tap Delete over again to ostend.

Every bit long every bit the conversation isn't pinned, you can also swipe left over the conversation, tap Delete, then tap Delete once again to confirm. To delete more one conversation, open Messages and tap Edit in the upper-left corner. Tap Select Messages, then tap the circle next to the conversations and tap Delete in the bottom-right corner.

To keep your messages for a certain corporeality of time, become to Settings, tap Messages, then tap Continue Messages. And then select how long yous want to keep your messages.

iPhone showing how to turn on Hide Alerts by swiping left over a message.

  1. Open Messages.
  2. Swipe left over the conversation that you want to mute.
  3. Tap the Alerts button .

When Hide Alerts is on, the Alerts push appears next to the conversation. This stops notifications but for that chat, not your device. You'll still receive all other messages and see notifications for them on your Lock Screen.

Detect attachments from a conversation

  1. Open the message.
  2. Tap the proper name of the contact at the tiptop of the bulletin. If you're using iOS 14 or earlier, or iPadOS, tap the Info push button .
  3. You'll see Photos and Links. Touch and hold an image or attachment to show options like Save, Copy, Share, and Delete.

iPhone showing how to send and share your location in Messages.

Send and share your location

  1. Tap the proper name of the contact at the top of the conversation. If you lot're using iOS 14 or before, or iPadOS, tap the Info push button .
  2. Tap Send My Electric current Location. Your recipient will run across your location on the map. Or tap Share My Location. So choose the length of time that yous want to share your location.

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