Apple Messages
How To: Get RCS Messaging in Your iPhone's Messages App for iMessage-Like Chats with Android Users
Things just got a lot better in your iPhone's Messages app, and the most significant change lets you text Android users with iMessage-like features such as typing indicators, read receipts, large file sharing, high-quality photos and videos, and even emoji reactions.
How To: Apple Messages Lets You Switch Rich Link Previews and Use Plain Text URLs for Webpages More Easily — Here's How
The updated Messages app for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS has creative new ways for you to format and send messages, from standard text formatting to fun text effects. But Apple also includes another way to make your messages appear precisely as you want: more control over how links appear for you and your recipients.
How To: There's an Easy Way to See All the Unsent Messages in Your iMessage Conversations
While you can quickly see the edit history of a modified iMessage in the Messages app, there's no way to view an iMessage that somebody in the conversation deleted unless you happened to see it before it disappeared. But that's only true if you didn't implement these security measures on your iPhone.
How To: Set Up Contact Key Verification for the Highest Level of iMessage Security
Your iPhone is fairly secure by default, but Apple's Lockdown Mode takes it to Fort Knox levels of protection. If you're a high-value target for spyware, phishing attempts, and other sophisticated cyberattacks, it's an essential feature. But for almost everyone else, it's an extreme move. If you simply want to verify someone's identity when chatting, Contact Key Verification is a more practical option.
How To: Trigger iMessage Effects with Just a Keyword
One of the coolest aesthetic features of iMessage is its animated message effects. If you're like many users, you might even have discovered them by accident, where wishing your friend a "Happy Birthday!" or congratulating them on a promotion unexpectedly flooded your screen with balloons or confetti.
How To: 15 Hidden iMessage Features for iPhone You Probably Didn't Know About
There are many things Apple doesn't tell you about its products, and that's definitely the case when it comes to its Messages app. Hidden features lurk in your SMS and iMessage conversations just waiting to be found, and we've unearthed some of the most secret ones.
How To: The Messaging Trick You Never Knew You Needed
Whether you're wielding an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android phone or tablet, or even a Windows PC, this little-known secret holds the key to effortless assistance and unwavering obedience. Intrigued? I thought so.
How To: Your iPhone Can Help Keep Clutter from Piling Up in Mail and Messages — Here's How
Many of your accounts online likely require two-factor authentication (2FA) or two-step verification (2SV) to confirm your identity when logging in, and there's a good chance the second factor or step for each is a one-time email or SMS verification code. If you get a lot of email and SMS codes, it can clutter your Mail and Messages apps with junk if you don't delete the messages after signing in.
How To: 19 New Messages Features in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15 You Didn't Know You Needed
Apple's Messages app already has a ton of great features, from audio message transcriptions to message editing and screen effect triggers. But some important new features and changes are included in the latest software updates for iPhone, iPad, and Mac that make Messages even better.
How To: New Menu Lets You Set Default Apps on Your iPhone or iPad for Calling, Messaging, Emailing, Web Browsing, and More
Since 2020, you've been free to set your preferred web browser and email app as the default on your iPhone or iPad. Now, four years later, Apple is expanding this flexibility in the U.S., allowing even more apps to be set as defaults for specific actions. Plus, there's now a centralized menu to manage all these default app settings.
How To: Apple's Tapback Reactions in Messages Got a Huge Makeover with More Options — Here's What's New
The updated Messages app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac has some really cool new features, but the one you may end up using the most is something you're already familiar with: Tapbacks. With iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia 15, Tapbacks are improved and contain even more reactions to choose from.
How To: Apple's Messages App Has Some Cool New Text Editing Features and Effects for iMessage — Here's How It All Works
At first glance, Apple's Messages app has always seemed pretty basic when it comes to text formatting options. However, there were and still are hidden ways to format text in your messages. But Apple's latest software updates give us even more ways to dress up text in messages, including more text effects.
How To: Schedule Messages to Send Later Automatically Using iMessage
You could already schedule an email to send on a specific day and time in Apple's Mail app, but that functionality is now also available in the Messages app. What's even better is that scheduled messages sync across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac, something you don't get in the Mail app.
How To: Your iPhone's Messages App Has 22 New Must-Try Features — And You Probably Didn't Know About Half of Them
Your iPhone's Messages app has some impressive new features and changes with iOS 17, and you've probably already noticed some of them just by using the updated app. But there are less apparent features, even hidden ones, that have likely eluded you that you're going to want to know about. There are even some new Messages features yet to be officially released.
How To: Use Your iPhone's New 'Check In' Feature to Let Contacts Know When You Arrive Safely at Your Destination
Check In is a new safety feature built into the Messages app that can automatically notify a family member, friend, another contact, or a group the moment you arrive safely at a destination, giving them peace of mind in knowing you're all right. If you never reach your stopping place, it will also send them clues to help them figure out what went wrong.
How To: Quickly Find the Conversations with the Most Photos and Videos in Your iPhone's Messages App
There's a quick way to see who you or somebody else has been chatting with the most in the Messages app for iOS and iPadOS. More specifically, it shows which conversations have the most attachments, such as photos and videos, giving you an idea of which chats are the most active visually.
How To: Apple's Messages App Has a Hidden Feature You Can Use Only by Doing This
Apple has a secret iMessage effect so hidden that there's only one way to unlock it, and it's not by digging through the Messages app's settings, tools, effects, or interface. However, it's used the same way whether you're messaging from an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, so it's easy to remember once you know.
How To: Your iPhone Can Scan Images to Identify and Show Information About Art, Insects, Landmarks, Plants, and More
When you take a photo of something interesting, like a landmark, piece of art, animal, or plant, there's a good chance you'll also want to know more about that something than just what you see in the frame. When this happens, you can take advantage of Apple's content recognition service for iOS and iPadOS without having to install any third-party apps.
How To: Apple's New Cutout Tool Magically Isolates Subjects and Removes Backgrounds from Images on Your iPhone
One of the most useful new features Apple included on iOS 16 lets you instantly lift the subject out of a photo, separating it from the background. Once extracted, you can paste, save, or drop the cutout wherever you want as a new image, and you can even make it a sticker in messaging apps.
How To: Mark Texts and iMessages as Unread on Your iPhone, iPad, or Mac
We've been able to mark all or individual unread conversations as read in Apple's Messages app since iOS 8. Eight years later, Apple is finally letting us mark individual text and iMessage chats as unread.