iOS 16 lets you unsend text messages on your iPhone — here's how it works and how to do it

• A new iOS 16 feature lets you unsend text messages on your iPhone.
• After you send an iMessage, you'll have 15 minutes to unsend it and delete it from everyone's phone.
• Unsending only works when you're texting another person who has iOS 16 or newer.

iOS 16 comes with a lot of new features, and the flagship addition is a game-changer for the butterfingers among us.

iPhone users can now unsend their text messages. This lets you remotely delete a text message you've sent, even if the recipient has already seen it.

Here's how it works.

How to unsend a message on your iPhone

Once you send an iMessage from your iPhone, you have 15 minutes to unsend it. Unsending your message will delete it from your phone and from any device you sent it to. In its place, you and the recipient will see a message saying that a message was removed.

Unfortunately, there are some drawbacks. You can only unsend iMessages — in other words, you can only unsend texts that you send to other Apple devices. This means that you can't unsend messages when texting an Android phone. 

And even if you're texting another Apple device, they need to have updated to iOS 16 (or iPadOS 16 or macOS Ventura) for it to work on their end. Otherwise, unsending your message will delete it on your end but not theirs.

To unsend a message you've just sent, tap and hold your finger on the message. In the menu that opens, tap Undo Send.

Your text message will explode into blue dust. Once it's gone, everyone in the conversation will only see a notice saying that a message was deleted.

You're now free to send a new message in its place, or just leave the chat as is.