You can delete iMessages one at a time, in bulk, or by clearing your entire conversation

iMessage is Apple's texting service for devices running iOS, iPadOS, or macOS. Once you send a message, you can remove it from your device in several ways depending on what you want to accomplish. You can delete individual messages, swipe to remove multiple messages at once, or delete an entire conversation. The message stays on the recipient's device — deleting it from your phone does not erase it from theirs.

The steps differ slightly between iPhone, iPad, and Mac, but the principle is the same: find the conversation, select the message or thread, and confirm the deletion. None of these actions require a password or special permission.

Key Takeaways

  • Deleting a message from your device does not remove it from the recipient's phone or any backup copies they may have made.
  • On iPhone and iPad, you can swipe left on a single message to delete it, or long-press multiple messages to select and remove them together.
  • On Mac, click and hold a message, then select Delete from the menu that appears.
  • Deleting an entire conversation removes all messages in that thread from your device but does not affect the other person's copy of those messages.

Delete a single iMessage on iPhone or iPad

Open the Messages app and find the conversation containing the message you want to remove. Swipe left on the specific message — not the entire conversation thread, but the individual text bubble. A red Delete button will appear on the right side of the message.

Tap the Delete button. The message disappears from your device immediately. If you change your mind within a few seconds, you can tap Undo at the bottom of the screen. After that window closes, the deletion is permanent on your device.

Delete multiple iMessages at once on iPhone or iPad

Open Messages and find the conversation. Long-press (press and hold) the first message you want to remove. A checkmark appears next to it. Continue tapping other messages to select them — you can select as many as you want from the same conversation or across different conversations.

Once you have selected all the messages you want gone, tap Delete in the bottom right corner. Confirm by tapping Delete Message. All selected messages are removed from your device at once.

Delete an entire conversation on iPhone or iPad

Open the Messages app and look at your list of conversations. Swipe left on the conversation thread you want to remove. A red Delete button appears. Tap it to remove the entire conversation and all its messages from your device.

Alternatively, tap Edit in the top left corner of the Messages list. Tap the red minus sign next to the conversation you want to delete, then tap Delete to confirm. This method is useful if you want to delete multiple conversations in one go — you can select several before tapping Delete.

Delete iMessages on Mac

Open the Messages app on your Mac. Find the conversation containing the message you want to remove. Click and hold (or right-click) on the specific message. A menu appears with options including Delete. Click Delete.

To delete an entire conversation on Mac, right-click the conversation in the list on the left side of the window and select Delete Conversation. You can also select the conversation and press the Delete key on your keyboard.

What happens to deleted iMessages

When you delete an iMessage from your device, it is removed only from that device. If you sent the message, the recipient still has it on their phone unless they delete it themselves. If you received the message, the sender cannot see that you deleted it — there is no notification or indicator.

If you back up your iPhone or iPad to iCloud or your Mac, deleted messages may still exist in that backup. If you restore from a backup later, the deleted messages will reappear. To permanently remove messages from a backup, you would need to create a new backup after deleting the messages, which overwrites the old backup.

Unsend an iMessage instead of deleting it

If you sent a message very recently and want to remove it from the recipient's device as well, you can use the Unsend feature instead of Delete. This works on iMessage only, not on SMS or MMS messages, and only if the recipient is using iOS 16 or later, iPadOS 16 or later, or macOS Ventura or later.

Long-press the message you sent and tap Undo Send. The message is removed from the recipient's device and replaced with a notification that says you unsent a message. This feature works for up to two minutes after you send the message. After that window closes, you can only delete the message from your own device.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I delete a message I sent to someone else?

You can delete it from your own device, but the recipient will still see it on theirs. If you sent it very recently and both of you have newer Apple devices, you can use Unsend instead, which removes it from their device too and shows them you unsent it.

Will the other person know I deleted a message?

No. Deleting a message from your device is invisible to the other person. They will not receive a notification or see any indication that you deleted something. Unsend is different — it shows them a notification that you unsent a message, though not the content of the message itself.

Can I recover a message after I delete it?

If you deleted it moments ago, tap Undo at the bottom of the screen. Otherwise, it is gone from your device. If you have a backup from before the deletion, you can restore your entire device from that backup to get the message back, but this restores everything to that point in time.

Does deleting a conversation delete the messages from iCloud?

Deleting a conversation from your device does not immediately remove it from iCloud. If you have iCloud Backup turned on, the messages stay in your backup. To remove them from iCloud, you would need to turn off iCloud Backup, delete the backup, and create a new one.

What is the difference between Delete and Unsend?

Delete removes the message from your device only. Unsend removes it from the recipient's device too, but only works on iMessage within two minutes of sending, and only if they have a recent Apple device. Unsend shows them a notification that you unsent something.