You can delete a message in three ways: swipe left on it, tap Edit and select multiple messages, or delete an entire conversation

The fastest way is to swipe left on a single message in the Messages app, then tap the trash icon that appears. If you want to delete several messages at once, open the conversation, tap Edit in the top left corner, tap each message you want to remove (they'll show a checkmark), then tap Delete. To remove an entire conversation — all messages from one person or group — swipe left on their name in your message list and tap Delete, or tap Edit, select the conversation, and tap Delete.

None of these actions recovers the message on your phone once it's gone. The person you were texting still has their copy of the conversation on their device. Deleting a message from your iPhone does not delete it from their phone, and they will still see it in their own Messages app.

Key Takeaways

  • Swipe left on a single message and tap the trash icon to delete it quickly without entering Edit mode.
  • Tap Edit in the top left of a conversation to select and delete multiple messages at once.
  • Deleting a message from your phone does not remove it from the other person's device.
  • Once deleted, a message cannot be recovered from your iPhone — there is no undo or trash folder for text messages.
  • You can delete an entire conversation by swiping left on the person's name in your message list.

The difference between deleting a message and unsending it

If you have an iPhone and the person you texted also has an iPhone, you may see an Undo Send option appear briefly after you send a message. This is different from deletion. Undo Send removes the message from both your phone and theirs — they will see a notification that you unsent it, and the message will disappear from their conversation thread. You have up to two minutes to use Undo Send after you hit the send button.

Deletion only removes the message from your own phone. The other person still sees it in their conversation. Undo Send is the only way to remove a message from someone else's device, and it only works if both of you are using iMessage (Apple's texting service for iPhone-to-iPhone messages). Regular text messages (SMS) cannot be unsent.

How to tell if a message is iMessage or a regular text

Open the Messages app and look at the color of the message bubble. If the bubble is blue, it is an iMessage and Undo Send will work. If the bubble is green, it is a regular text message (SMS) sent over your cellular network, and Undo Send is not available — you can only delete it from your own phone.

The color depends on whether the other person has an Apple device and iMessage turned on. If you text someone with an Android phone, their bubble will always be green. If you text another iPhone user but they have iMessage disabled, the bubble will also be green.

What happens to photos and videos in a deleted message

When you delete a message that contains a photo or video, the message disappears from your conversation thread, but the image or video usually remains in your Photos app. Deleting the message does not automatically delete the media file itself. If you want to remove the photo or video completely, you need to go to your Photos app separately and delete it from there.

The other person's copy of the photo or video is not affected by deleting the message. They still have the image in their own Photos app and in their conversation thread, even if you delete it from yours.

Clearing storage space by deleting old conversations

If your iPhone is running low on storage, deleting old conversations can free up some space, though usually not much. Text messages take up very little room — a conversation with thousands of messages might only use a few megabytes. Photos and videos attached to messages take up far more space. If you want to free up storage, deleting conversations that contain many images or videos will have a bigger effect than deleting text-only chats.

To see how much space Messages is using, go to Settings, tap General, tap iPhone Storage, and scroll down to Messages. The number shown includes all your conversations and any media attached to them. Deleting individual messages one at a time is slow; it is faster to delete entire conversations by swiping left on them in your message list.

Recovering a deleted message

Once you delete a message from your iPhone, there is no built-in way to recover it. The Messages app does not have a trash folder or undo feature for deleted messages. If you deleted a message by accident and need to know what it said, your only option is to ask the other person to tell you or to ask them to take a screenshot of it from their phone.

If you back up your iPhone to iCloud or to a computer using a cable, old backups may contain deleted messages. You can restore your entire phone from a backup, but this will overwrite everything on your device with the older version — you will lose any new messages, photos, or other data created after that backup was made. For most people, this is not worth it. If the message is important, it is better to ask the other person to resend it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I delete a message for both me and the other person?

Only with Undo Send, which works for iMessages (blue bubbles) within two minutes of sending. For regular text messages (green bubbles), you can only delete from your phone. The other person will still see it.

What if I delete a conversation by accident?

If you deleted it very recently, you may be able to undo it by swiping up from the bottom of the screen to open the undo menu. Otherwise, your only recovery option is to restore your phone from a backup, which will erase everything created after that backup was made.

Does deleting a message delete it from iCloud?

If you have iCloud backup turned on, deleting a message removes it from your phone and from future backups. Old backups may still contain the message, but new backups will not include it.

Can the other person see that I deleted a message?

No, they cannot see that you deleted a message from your phone. They only see a notification if you use Undo Send within two minutes. Otherwise, deletion is invisible to them.

Why do some of my messages have a red exclamation mark?

A red exclamation mark means the message failed to send — it did not reach the other person. You can delete it, but it was never delivered in the first place. Tap the message to see options to try sending again or delete it.