How to Edit Text Messages on Your iPhone

• You can edit text messages on your iPhone for up to 15 minutes after sending.
• To edit a text message on your iPhone, tap and hold your finger on it and select “Edit.”
• This feature is new in iOS 16, and it’s only available on iPhones that have the latest update.

Even with autocorrect turned on, it’s easy to make typos when texting. That’s why a new iPhone feature lets you edit texts even after you send them, so no one has to see your fumble-fingered messages.

Here’s how to use it.

How to edit text messages on your iPhone

Before anything, note that you can only edit iMessages — in other words, texts sent to other Apple devices, which appear on your device in blue bubbles. It doesn’t work with SMS messages, the kind that non-Apple phones like Android use, which send inside green bubbles.

To edit a text message that you’ve sent, tap and hold your finger on the message. In the menu that appears, tap Edit.

You’ll now be able to edit the text of the message however you want — you just can’t erase the entire thing. When you’re done with it, tap the checkmark icon to save and send it again. The new version of your message will replace the original on every device you’re texting.

You can edit messages for up to 15 minutes after sending them. After that point, the Edit option will disappear.

Anyone that you’re texting will see the word Edited appear underneath your new message. If they tap it, they’ll be able to see the original text and all the edited versions you’ve made.

What happens if you edit a text to someone who doesn’t have iOS 16?

Above we mentioned that you can’t edit texts sent to someone who doesn’t have iMessage. But even if you’re iMessaging someone, the edit feature still won’t work unless they’ve updated their devices.

For editing to work, the person (or people) you’re texting need to have iOS 16 on their own iPhone, iPadOS 16 on their iPad, or macOS Ventura on their Mac.

If they haven’t updated their device, you’ll still see the option to edit your text. But instead of your new edited message replacing the old one, it’ll just send as a totally new message, prefaced with the words Edited to.