How to delete messages and texts on iPhone and iPad

Delete an individual message without deleting an entire chat history on your iPhone or iPad.

If you have a great conversation going in Messages and at some point during your chat, something is said that you might not want visible on your phone. Maybe it was an off-color joke, maybe it was your friend's PIN because they lent you their credit card, or maybe you're a secret agent and for some reason a fellow agent messaged you a top secret code when they actually were just trying to send you a picture of the great spaghetti they were eating.

If there's only one thing you need to remove, you don't have to delete the whole chat, you can just delete a specific message. With a few taps, you can get rid of anything, embarrassing, incriminating, or private in Messages.

How to delete Messages and texts on iPhone and iPad

1. Launch the Messages app from the Home screen of your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on the chat containing the message you want to delete.

3. Tap and hold the message you want to delete.

4. Tap more from the pop-up menu.

5. Tap on the circle next to the message you want to delete or tap delete all if you want to get rid of all of the messages in the chat.
6. Tap on the delete button (looks like a trash can).

That's it! The message is gone and you can continue chatting without fear of your secrets leaking if someone grabs your phone and scrolls through your messages.

How to get more help with Messages

If you're having issues getting Messages to activate, get more help at the iMore forums, and for more tips, check out: