With iOS 16, find out how to unsend iMessages on iPhone and iPad

Everyone has sent messages they wish they could take back. iMessages can be unsent with iOS 16 and iPadOS 16's 'Undo Send' feature - but you must act fast.

There is a good chance that a typo or three will slip into your iMessages, and sometimes they can be embarrassing. The iPhone's autocorrect has become notoriously poor, and a typo or three is bound to slip into your iMessages.

iOS 16 allows you to unsend messages, potentially saving you embarrassment. The process is super simple. Though they may sound similar, unsubscribing a message is different from deleting it. Undelivered messages are removed from the Messages chat on devices owned by the sender and recipient.

Messages that are deleted are only removed from the sender's device. The Undo Send function can be used to remove the message from all recipients' devices at once. If you wish to unsend an iMessage, you will need an iPhone running iOS 16 (or later), or an iPad running iPadOS 16 (or later).

It will work on any compatible device just fine, but we'll show you how on an iPhone 13 Pro Max. Congratulations! The message has been unsent and it has been prevented from being seen by anyone (hopefully). I think that's all you need to know.

If your iPhone's software is not updated, you may still see your message on the updated device. The recipient will see a message that reads 'You unsent a message.'.'.You now know how to unsend an iMessage, but there are a few important things to keep in mind.

In the first place, unsubscribing from an iMessage is only permitted for two minutes after it has been sent. If you miss the deadline, you're out of luck and will never have access to iMessage again. A sent iMessage cannot be unsent unless both the sender and recipient are using iOS 16 or later.

When recipients are using iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey, or earlier versions of software, the iMessage will remain in the chat. Although it's an annoyance, it will become less problematic as more people update their devices. This is something worth considering for now (especially during public and developer beta testing).