Apple unveils iOS 16; adds “edit”, “undo send” and “mark as unread” features to iMessages

At WWDC 2022, Apple said, about the recently announced iOS 16, that iPhone users will get new ways to share and communicate.

One of the promises that the company made what that users will be able to edit or recall recently sent messages, recover recently deleted messages, and mark conversations as unread.

These updates have been added to the company’s native messenging app, iMessages. Here are the new additions to the app;

1. edit message you just sent
2. undo a sent message
3. mark a thread unread, so if you read it and want to come back to it later, it will appear as if you had not read it already.

These features are present in other messenger apps, sure, but this is the first big redesign in iOS since reply-to-text, Animoji and and tapback (reacting with emoji to individual messages).

Below are some positive reactions from users on Twitter;

The company also noted that these changes are among the most requested features from users.

The three new features – “edit”, “undo”, and “mark an iMessage as unread” can all be easily accessed through the interaction menu on the iMessage app.

Open the app, long-press any message an iMessage and the menu will be displayed. You also see the option to tap and go back message, reply it, copy, translate, or delete it.

With the “edit” button you can fix spelling errors, grammar mistakes, and any content issues in an iMessage though it has been sent. Apple, however, noted that if after editing a message, an “Edited” badge will display next to the “Delivered” badge, to distinguish between both. This allows the recipient to know the iMessage was edited.

With the “Undo send” button users can remove an iMessage after it has been sent. Apple didn’t mention the time it will take take for an undo sent iMessage to be removed.

With the “mark as unread” button you can remove a read receipt from a message, even if a user has already seen it.

As the iOS 16 rolls out for beta testing next month, more and more information about Apple’s updates to iMessages will unfold.

We wait!