The latest software update for your iPhone, iOS 16, is here. It has a bunch of new features, like a customizable homescreen, the ability to schedule emails, and some other things, like shared photo libraries, that will roll out later this fall.
But you, a messy bitch who lives for drama, will care most about the new features for iMessage. You can now mark texts as “unread” if you want to get back to them later, which is great. But most exciting is the ability to “undo send” or edit messages. That’s right: You can finally take your foot out of your mouth for all those accidental texts or embarrassing typos.
Here’s how to use the undo send or edit functions. Simply press and hold down on your just-sent message (the same way you “like” or “heart” someone else’s message) and choose “undo send” or “edit” from the menu that pops up. Ta-da! Message rescinded.
Press and hold your message to see the “undo send” or “edit” options.
This is great news for people who hate it when they make typos or need to make an update to “Let’s meet at 2pm” if you need to push it back to 2:15 p.m. Convenience! Or…chaos?
Of course, you, the disgusting, vile rat that you are, are excited for the undo feature to wash away all the weird things you do on a regular basis. (It’s important to note that this feature could be used for truly bad things: covering up abuse/harassment, most obviously. Don’t do that.) Accidentally texting your boss “420,” sending “ugh, Sheila is being so annoying” to Sheila, or typing those regrettable “u up?” texts that go unread for 15 minutes — all those social faux pas that keep you up at night, you finally have a magic eraser to fix them!
Or do you?
First off: The other person can see if you unsent or edited a message. If it was edited, they can see the old version if they tap on it.
Secondly, this only works iMessage to iMessage. It won’t work at all if you’re texting someone with an Android phone.
Between two iPhone users, it only works if the other person has also updated to iOS 16. If your friends are slow to update (or can’t because they have a phone older than the iPhone 8), your edits or undo send won't work.
It also won't work if someone is using their Mac computer or laptop to read iMessage. It may work in some future macOS update.
When it doesn’t work, this is what the other person sees:
It’s also limited to new texts. You'll only have two minutes to “undo send” a text, and 15 minutes to edit it.
For now, at least, the new iPhone update won’t totally save you from committing terrible crimes against your group chats. But in a few weeks or months, when more people have updated, this feature will be a lot more useful. Happy texting!