Most of us at some time or another have sent messages in the heat of the moment that we wish we hadn’t. In iOS 16 Apple will hopefully be helping iOS Message users with new features that will be available on the iPhone and iPad to make it easier for users to edit and even possibly delete messages they have sent. A few software previews have been made available by Apple to developers revealing some of the features that could possibly be implemented in the next iOS release taking place sometime during September 2022.
Until we have more details on those features this quick guide will take you through the process of how to delete messages on iPhone or iPad. Making sure the messages deleted from your iCloud account on all your devices.
When you write a message in the official Apple Message application, Apple saves your message directly to your iCloud account and synchronized across all your devices. If you would like it to delete an individual message from all your devices or turn off the Messages in iCloud feature, this tutorial will take you through the process.
Thankfully, when you delete one message from your device, it will synchronize across all your devices, deleting the message, attachment or conversation from all devices simultaneously. This not only frees up space on your iCloud storage but also allows you to remove those annoying messages you perhaps preferred not to send would like to be seen by others. If you would prefer to keep your conversations on a single device, you can turn off the Messages in the iCloud feature. Once deactivated, Apple will store your message history in a separate iCloud backup.
Delete iPhone messages
1. Locate the conversation and message you would like to delete
2. Touch and hold the message bubble or attachment that you would like to remove. This will trigger a new pop-up window to appear, allowing you to normally reply, copy, translate or add a thumbs up icon or similar to the message. Down the bottom of the menu you will see an option for “More”. Select this as shown in the image below.
3. Your iPhone screen will now present you with the ability to select individual messages from your conversation and a delete icon down in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. Select the messages you would like to delete and press the trashcan icon to confirm and then select “Delete Message” when prompted.
Delete an entire iPhone conversation
1. Enter the Messages application where all your conversations will be listed
2. Swipe left on the conversation you would like to delete
3. Confirm your selection when prompted to delete the conversation from your iPhone
Disable Messages in iCloud
If you’d like to turn off the Messages in iCloud feature on your iPhone, simply go to the Settings application and tap on your name and Apple ID area at the top. Select iCloud and then Manage Storage. Select Messages and then the Disable & Delete option. Once enabled, your messages will no longer synchronize across all your devices.
If you are stilling experiencing problems deleting messages from your iPhone it may be worth contacting an Apple Genius Bar representative or searching the official Apple support site for more information. If you would like to know how to delete messages from the Facebook or rather Meta Messenger application check out our previous article.
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