Apple’s iMessage Might Soon Let You Unsend A Text, Here’s Why

Apple might soon let iOS users unsend messages sent through iMessage. This is likely to be only one of many related improvements coming to the iPhone with the next version of iOS.

Message apps are big business and to the point where many services have started to blur the line between apps. For example, while dedicated messaging apps have become richer with features beyond sending text, other apps like Facebook have looked to integrate messaging app-like features into their products. The end result being the competition has never been higher for messages, and the experience is continually getting richer.

Based on a new report by MacRumors, it looks like Apple is preparing the option to retract messages in iMessage. Although this might not be the only new feature coming soon with the suggestion a Slack-like tagging system could be introduced where users can @ each other in group chats with the added suggestion the recipient will receive an alert – even if they have alerts turned off for the group chat in general. Another group chat feature which seems to be in the works is typing indicators where recipients see three dots when a message sender is typing.

How Will iMessage Unsending Work?

Essentially, once a message has bent sent, the sender will be able to remove it again. However, not all traces of the deleted message will be removed due to the expectation that some form of “fine print” will be left in the message trail indicating that a message was sent, but then retracted. Of course, for some this might actually prove to be just as frustrating as the lack of an unsending option, due to users now being able to see a message was sent to them without knowing the contents of it – especially if no follow up message arrives in its place. It’s worth noting that iMessage users can already delete messages but the difference here is that deleting a message only removes it from the sender’s iPhone or iOS device. It doesn’t also remove it from the recipients, unlike the unsend feature.

Considering this is an iMessage feature, it probably also should be expected that the unsend option will only be available in instances where both the sender and receiver’s devices are iOS devices. Another major unknown at the moment is just how long the time window for retraction is. While one more caveat is that there’s currently no guarantee when the feature will arrive. At the moment, the expectation is that it will likely launch with iOS 14, although it could be held back for a later version. Then again, Apple might also decide not to include unsending (or any of the features mentioned) at all.

Source: MacRumors

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John Finn
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John Finn is a technology editor and writer for Screen Rant. John has been covering technology since 2014 and focuses on where tech meets the movie and TV industry. A Psychology graduate from England who now lives in the US, John previously worked in the aviation industry as an airline reviewer. You can find John on Twitter (@J_Finns) or contact directly at john [at] screenrant [dot] com.

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