Hidden iPhone menu lets you edit and even ‘unsend’ any text
A HIDDEN menu on your iPhone unlocks special texting features that you may have missed.
It gives you bonus features, including the ability to edit or unsend texts.
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That allows you to instantly fix any typos, accidental messages or a text that you regret.
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It was added in the iOS 16 software update for iPhone, which is available on millions of phones.
You can get it by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
Editing texts after they’ve been sent is a rare feature – even WhatsApp doesn’t have it yet.
But WhatsApp has offered unsending – pulling a text back from a recipient’s phone – for a while now.
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How to edit an iPhone text
Not all iMessages can be tweaked or deleted: there’s a time limit.
You only have 15 minutes to make any changes to a text before the option runs out.
Simply hold down on the message to bring up a hidden menu, and this will allow you to edit it.
Recipients will be alerted when a text has been edited.
However it won’t be possible to see exactly what changes have been made – unless you had previously seen the message and remembered what it said.
Also important is that both the sender and recipient will need to be on iOS 16 for the feature to work.
So even if you have iOS 16, you won’t be able to unsend or edit a text for a person who hasn’t yet upgraded.
You’ll receive a warning that some people won’t see your edits if this is the case.
For the feature to work, everyone needs to be running iOS 16.
Sadly, if you’re using WhatsApp then there’s no way to edit a text.
That said, WhatsApp regularly adds new features and is already testing a similar hack.
So you might not have to wait too long before you can edit WhatsApp texts too.
How to unsend an iPhone text
You can unsend an iMessage on iOS 16 within the first 15 minutes by holding down on the text.
But don’t think you can do it silently.
Just like on WhatsApp, if a text has been “unsent” then a note will appear for both the sender and recipient.
This will stop any confusion once a text has vanished.
On WhatsApp, it’s a very similar process.
Simply hold down on the message and choose Delete For Everyone.
This option disappears after too much time has passed, so be quick.
You can also use this menu to quickly translate a text that was sent in a foreign language.
Just tap the Translate button, et voilà.
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