If I have accidentally sent a iMessage to someone text s there a way to quickly delete it???

Is there a way to quickly delete an iMessage after you have accidentally sent it?

iPhone 6s Plus

Posted on Sep 24, 2017 9:56 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 24, 2017 10:15 AM

It is called instant messaging for a reason - hit send and its gone. So read, think, pause, before hitting send 😉 (btw the same thing goes for email). And no, Apple cannot pull a message back from the recipients device once sent. At that point, it is no longer your message. The content received on anyone’s device is theirs.


It has always been the case with email and messaging that recalls and read receipts are under the control of the recipient, not the sender. Apple has no right to delete or remove content from anyone’s device, and once a message hits their servers, they have an obligation to deliver it as immediately as possible.


Note also that Apple has nothing to do with your SMS/MMS text service handled by your cellular telephone service provider. Cellular providers take the same attitude. Once you hit send, it is no longer your message - it is on its way to the recipient.


You cannot dig into the postal mail box and pull out a letter, or ask the post office to pull it once it is in their system. Same thing applies to emails and texts. Once you send it, it is no longer under your control. That is not going to change.

3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 24, 2017 10:15 AM in response to Pfn

It is called instant messaging for a reason - hit send and its gone. So read, think, pause, before hitting send 😉 (btw the same thing goes for email). And no, Apple cannot pull a message back from the recipients device once sent. At that point, it is no longer your message. The content received on anyone’s device is theirs.


It has always been the case with email and messaging that recalls and read receipts are under the control of the recipient, not the sender. Apple has no right to delete or remove content from anyone’s device, and once a message hits their servers, they have an obligation to deliver it as immediately as possible.


Note also that Apple has nothing to do with your SMS/MMS text service handled by your cellular telephone service provider. Cellular providers take the same attitude. Once you hit send, it is no longer your message - it is on its way to the recipient.


You cannot dig into the postal mail box and pull out a letter, or ask the post office to pull it once it is in their system. Same thing applies to emails and texts. Once you send it, it is no longer under your control. That is not going to change.

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If I have accidentally sent a iMessage to someone text s there a way to quickly delete it???

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