The quickest way to forward a text on iPhone

Open the Messages app, find the conversation you want to forward from, and press and hold on the specific message. A menu will appear with options including "More" — tap that. You can then select additional messages if you want to forward multiple texts at once, then tap "Forward" at the bottom right. Choose the contact or group you want to send them to, and tap "Send".

That's the standard path for most situations. But there are a few variations depending on what you're trying to do — whether you want to forward one message or a whole conversation, whether you're sending to a person or a group, and whether you want to include photos or just text.

Key Takeaways

  • Press and hold a single message in the Messages app, tap "More", then "Forward" to send it to someone else.
  • You can select multiple messages at once by tapping each one after you've tapped "More", then forward them all together.
  • Forwarded messages appear as separate texts to the recipient, not as a conversation thread.
  • There is no built-in way to forward an entire conversation at once — you have to forward individual messages or groups of messages.

Forwarding a single message

Open Messages and find the conversation containing the text you want to forward. Press and hold directly on that message — not on the contact name or the conversation itself, but on the actual text bubble. A menu will pop up with several options.

Tap "More" at the bottom of that menu. The message will now have a checkmark next to it, and you'll see a "Forward" button appear at the bottom right of your screen. Tap "Forward", then select who you want to send it to from your contacts. You can type a name to search, or scroll through your recent contacts. Once you've chosen the recipient, tap "Send".

Forwarding multiple messages at once

If you want to forward several messages from the same conversation, the process is almost the same — but you select more than one. Press and hold the first message, tap "More", and it will be marked with a checkmark. Now tap each additional message you want to include. Each one will get a checkmark as you select it.

Once you've selected all the messages you want, tap "Forward" at the bottom right. Choose your recipient and tap "Send". The messages will arrive as separate texts in the order they appeared in the original conversation, so the recipient will see them as individual messages rather than a thread.

What happens when you forward a message

When you forward a text, the recipient sees it as a new message from you, not as part of the original conversation. If the original message included a photo, video, or link, those come along with the text. The timestamp and sender information from the original message are not included — it just looks like you're sending them that content.

If you forward a message that was part of a group chat, the recipient won't see that context. They'll just get the message itself. This matters if the message only makes sense within the conversation it came from.

Forwarding messages from group chats

Forwarding works the same way in group conversations as it does in one-on-one chats. Press and hold the message, tap "More", select any additional messages if you want, then tap "Forward" and choose who to send them to. You can forward a message from a group chat to an individual, to a different group, or to multiple people separately.

One thing to keep in mind: if you're forwarding something someone said in a private group chat to someone outside that group, they won't know the original context. The recipient will just see the message text without knowing who said it or what conversation it came from.

Why you can't forward entire conversations

iPhone doesn't have a built-in option to forward a whole conversation thread at once. If you need to share an entire exchange with someone, you have to either forward the messages individually or in small groups, or take screenshots of the conversation and send those instead.

Screenshots are often faster if you're trying to share a long back-and-forth. Just open the conversation, press the side button and volume-up button at the same time (or the home button and top button on older iPhones), then send the screenshot through Messages or another app. The recipient will see the conversation exactly as it appeared on your screen.

Forwarding messages with photos or videos

If the message you're forwarding includes a photo or video, it comes along automatically. You don't need to do anything different — just follow the same steps: press and hold, tap "More", tap "Forward", choose your recipient, and send.

The quality of the photo or video is usually preserved, though very large videos might take longer to send depending on your connection. If you're forwarding a message with multiple attachments, all of them will go through together.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I forward a text to multiple people at once?

No, you can only forward to one person or group at a time. If you want to send the same message to several people, you'll need to repeat the forward process for each recipient. There's no option to select multiple recipients in a single forward action.

Does the original sender know I forwarded their message?

No. There's no notification or indicator that tells someone their message was forwarded. The original sender won't know unless you tell them or the recipient mentions it to them.

Can I edit a message before I forward it?

No, you can't edit the message content before forwarding. You can only forward exactly what was sent. If you want to send a modified version, you'll need to type a new message instead.

What if I want to forward a message from someone who blocked me?

You can still forward messages from blocked contacts if you received them before blocking that person. The forward process works the same way. However, if you blocked someone after they sent you a message, you won't be able to see their messages in the conversation anymore.

Can I forward messages from iMessage to Android users?

Yes. If you forward an iMessage to someone with an Android phone, it will be sent as a regular text message instead. Photos and videos will still come through, though the quality might be slightly lower than if you were sending to another iPhone user.