How To: 7 Hacks That Will Make Text Messaging Faster & More Fun on Your iPhone

WhatsApp may be one of the most popular mobile messaging services around since it's multi-platform, but if most of your family and friends use iPads and iPhones, there's no need to go beyond the stock Messages app.

Except, it's so damn boring and slow. You can't really customize the layout, and there are lot of features missing that it should have, like a "delete all" button on the main page.

To make Messages work better for you in iOS 7, you'll have to jailbreak your iPad or iPhone to do so. Think jailbreaking is too risky? Well, after you've seen what I have to offer, you'll change your tune.

1. Customize the Boring Stock Font

There's a huge amount of supported fonts for iOS 7, but you can't use any of them in your stock Messages app unless you're jailbroken. To customize the Messages font, you'll need to use the BytaFont2 mod. This tweak will even let you apply the Disney or Simpsons fonts if you want.

2. Edit Your Texts More Efficiently

Editing your messages before you send them can be a real pain sometimes. The magnifying bubble helps you get to the right spot, but then you still have some extra steps to perform if you want to delete a whole word or section. Double-tapping on words does speed it up, but SwipeSelection is even faster, using the keyboard to highlight text selections.

3. Delete All Message Threads at Once

One of the drawbacks of iOS 7 is the missing "delete all" button on the Messages main page to purge all of your threads at once. For that, you'll have to use DeleteAllMessages, which adds the button that Apple doesn't want you to have.

4. Make the Keyboard Easier to See

The stock keyboard has white keys with a light gray background, that can sometimes make it hard to distinguish them apart. With Bloard, you can acquire the dark keyboard that was only temporarily available to those with the iOS 7.1 beta. Instead of the white keys over gray, it's gray keys over black, which are much easier to see.

If black isn't your thing, then check out BlueBoard, which lets you to choose from blue keys on a light or dark background.

5. Text Faster Without Leaving Your Current App

If you want to compose or respond to a message, you have to open up the actual Messages app to do so. To make things more convenient, use the free Couria tweak, which lets reply to and compose new text messages from whatever app you're already in. It's fast, convenient, and you can even use it on the lock screen.

6. Always Open to the Main Page Instead of Last Thread

Whenever you're in a particular conversation thread and press the Home button to exit Messages, the next time you come back you'll be right at that conversation again. If you'd rather open the Messages app up to the main page instead of your last conversation, use MessagePopper to do it.

7. Change the Color of Backgrounds, Bubbles, & Fonts

Need more than the custom font from the first tip above? Customize the hell out of Messages using Messages Customiser. This free tweak lets you change bubble colors, text color, and background colors for a truly unique look to your conversations. Plus, changes can be specific to iMessages and SMS separately.

With so many interesting messaging tweaks out there, you're sure to find one you really enjoy. So, what are you waiting for? Go jailbreak your iOS 7 device and start softModding!