The fastest way to delete a single message

Open the Messages app and find the conversation that contains the message you want to delete. Tap and hold on the specific message — not the whole conversation, just that one text. A menu will appear with options including "More", "Copy", and "Delete". Tap "Delete" and the message disappears when ready.

This method works for text messages, iMessages, photos, and links sent within a conversation. The message is gone from your phone, but the person who received it still has their copy on their device.

Key Takeaways

  • Tap and hold a single message in the Messages app, then tap "Delete" to remove it from your phone only.
  • Swipe left on a message to reveal a trash icon — a faster method if you are deleting several messages in a row.
  • Deleting a message from your phone does not remove it from the recipient's device or from iCloud backups if you have those turned on.
  • To delete an entire conversation, swipe left on the conversation name in your message list and tap "Delete".
  • The "Edit" button in the upper left of your message list lets you select multiple conversations at once and delete them together.

Deleting multiple messages at once

If you need to remove several messages from the same conversation, swipe left on each message one at a time. A red trash icon appears on the right side of the message. Tap the trash icon to delete that message. This is faster than the tap-and-hold method when you are working through several texts in a row.

You can also tap "Edit" in the upper left corner of the Messages app (when you are looking at your list of conversations, not inside a single conversation). This lets you select multiple entire conversations with checkmarks, then tap "Delete" in the lower right to remove all of them at once. This does not let you pick individual messages within a conversation — only whole conversations.

What happens to deleted messages

When you delete a message from your iPhone, it is removed from your phone's Messages app when ready. The person who sent or received that message still has their copy on their device — deleting it from your phone does not erase it from theirs.

If you have iCloud backups turned on, deleted messages may still exist in your iCloud backup until that backup is replaced by a newer one. This means if you restore your iPhone from an old backup, deleted messages could reappear. To check your backup settings, go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Photos and look for "Messages" in the list of apps being backed up.

Deleting entire conversations

To remove a whole conversation instead of individual messages, find the conversation in your message list and swipe left on it. A red "Delete" button appears. Tap it to remove the entire conversation and all messages in it from your phone.

You can also press and hold on a conversation name (not a message inside it) and select "Delete" from the menu that appears. Both methods remove the conversation from your message list, though again, the other person still has their copies of those messages.

Recovering a deleted message

Once you delete a message, you cannot undo it directly from the Messages app. However, if you have iCloud backups enabled, you can restore your entire iPhone from a backup made before the deletion. This is a drastic step that restores everything on your phone to that earlier point in time — not just the messages.

To restore from backup, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings, then choose "Restore from iCloud Backup" during setup. You will need to know your Apple ID password. This process takes time and will overwrite any changes you made after the backup was created, so use it only if the deleted message is critical and you have no other way to recover it.

Differences between iMessage and text message deletion

Deleting an iMessage (a message sent over Wi-Fi or data to another Apple device) works the same way as deleting a regular text message — tap and hold, then tap "Delete". The deletion only affects your copy on your phone.

One difference: if you delete an iMessage very quickly after sending it, before the recipient has opened the conversation, you may see an option to "Unsend" it instead of just "Delete". Unsend removes the message from the recipient's device as well, but only if they have not yet read it and only if both of you are using recent versions of iOS. This feature is not available for regular SMS text messages, only for iMessages.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does deleting a message from my iPhone delete it from the other person's phone?

No. Deleting a message from your phone removes it only from your Messages app. The person who sent or received that message still has their copy. The only exception is the "Unsend" feature for iMessages, which removes the message from the recipient's device if they have not read it yet and both phones are running recent iOS versions.

Can someone see that I deleted a message?

No. There is no notification or indicator that tells the other person you deleted a message from your phone. They cannot see your message history or know what you have removed from your device.

If I delete a conversation, can I get the messages back?

Not directly from the Messages app. If you have iCloud backups enabled, you can restore your entire phone from a backup made before the deletion, but this restores everything on your phone to that earlier time. There is no way to recover just the messages without restoring the whole device.

What is the difference between "Delete" and "Unsend" for iMessages?

"Delete" removes the message from your phone only. "Unsend" removes it from both your phone and the recipient's device, but only works for iMessages (not text messages), only if the recipient has not read it yet, and only if both phones are running iOS 16 or later.

Will deleted messages still show up in my iCloud backup?

Deleted messages may remain in your iCloud backup until a new backup replaces it. If you restore your phone from an old backup, deleted messages could reappear. To prevent this, you can turn off iCloud backup for Messages in Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud, though this means you will lose message backup protection going forward.