The three ways to delete texts on iPhone
You can delete text messages on iPhone in three ways: delete individual messages one at a time, delete an entire conversation, or use the Edit button to delete multiple conversations at once. The method you choose depends on how many messages you want to remove and whether you want to keep the conversation thread itself.
All three methods permanently remove the messages from your phone. Once deleted, the messages do not appear in your Messages app or in any backup you create after the deletion. If you have already backed up your phone to iCloud or a computer, those older backups will still contain the deleted messages — but new backups will not.
Key Takeaways
- Deleting a single message removes only that one text; deleting a conversation removes all messages in that thread but you can undo it within a few seconds.
- To delete one message, swipe left on it and tap the trash icon, or long-press it and select Delete.
- To delete an entire conversation, swipe left on the conversation name in your Messages list and tap Delete, or long-press and select Delete.
- Deleted messages are gone from your phone permanently, but they remain in any iCloud or computer backup made before the deletion.
- You can undo a conversation deletion by shaking your phone immediately after deleting, or by tapping Undo if the option appears.
Delete a single text message
To remove one message from a conversation while keeping the rest of the thread, open the conversation and find the message you want to delete. Press and hold on the message until a menu appears with options including Delete. Tap Delete, and the message disappears.
Alternatively, swipe left on the message with one finger. A red trash icon appears on the right side of the message. Tap the trash icon to delete it. This method works the same way whether you are using an iPhone with Face ID or Touch ID.
Deleting a single message does not affect the conversation itself — the thread remains in your Messages list, and you can still see all other messages in that conversation. The deleted message is gone permanently from your phone.
Delete an entire conversation
To remove all messages from one person or group at once, go to your Messages list and find the conversation you want to delete. Swipe left on the conversation name with one finger. A red Delete button appears on the right side. Tap Delete to remove the entire conversation and all its messages.
You can also long-press on the conversation name until a menu appears, then select Delete from the options. Either method removes the conversation from your Messages list immediately.
If you delete a conversation by mistake, you have a few seconds to undo it. Shake your phone, and an Undo option appears at the bottom of the screen. Tap Undo to restore the conversation. If you do not shake the phone right away, the undo option disappears and the deletion becomes permanent.
Delete multiple conversations at once
If you want to delete several conversations quickly, tap Edit in the upper left corner of your Messages list. The conversations now show circles on the left side. Tap the circle next to each conversation you want to delete — a checkmark appears in the circle when it is selected.
After you have selected all the conversations you want to remove, tap Delete in the lower right corner. A confirmation message asks whether you want to delete the selected conversations. Tap Delete again to confirm. All selected conversations and their messages are now removed from your Messages list.
Like single conversation deletions, you can undo this action by shaking your phone immediately after deleting. The undo option appears at the bottom of the screen for a few seconds.
What happens to deleted messages in backups
When you delete a message or conversation from your iPhone, it is removed from your phone immediately. However, if you have already created a backup of your phone to iCloud or to a computer using Finder or iTunes, that backup still contains the deleted messages. Backups capture a snapshot of your phone at the moment you create them, so older backups preserve everything that existed before the deletion.
Any new backup you create after deleting messages will not include those deleted messages. If you back up to iCloud automatically, your next automatic backup will overwrite the old backup and exclude the deleted texts. If you back up manually to a computer, the next manual backup you perform will also exclude the deleted messages.
If you need to recover deleted messages, you can restore your phone from an older backup that contains them. This process restores your entire phone to the state it was in when that backup was made, so you will also restore any other changes you made between then and now.
Deleting messages does not free up much storage space
Text messages take up very little storage on your iPhone — a typical text message uses less than one kilobyte of space. Even if you delete thousands of messages, you will recover only a few megabytes of storage at most. Deleting texts is useful for privacy or organization, but it is not an effective way to free up space on a full iPhone.
If you need to make room on your phone, focus on deleting photos, videos, and large apps instead. A single high-resolution photo uses more space than thousands of text messages. You can check how much space each app uses by going to Settings, then General, then iPhone Storage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I recover a text message after I delete it?
If you deleted it within the last few seconds, shake your phone to undo the deletion. If more time has passed, you can restore your phone from an older iCloud or computer backup that contains the message, but this restores your entire phone to that earlier date. Otherwise, the message is permanently gone from your phone.
Does deleting a conversation delete it for the other person too?
No. Deleting a conversation only removes it from your Messages list on your iPhone. The other person still has the conversation in their Messages app, and they can still see all the messages you exchanged. Deletion is local to your phone only.
What if I delete a message by accident?
Immediately shake your phone after the deletion. An Undo option appears at the bottom of the screen for a few seconds. Tap Undo to restore the message or conversation. If you wait too long, the undo option disappears and you will need to restore from a backup to recover it.
Do deleted messages take up space in iCloud?
Deleted messages do not count toward your iCloud storage once they are removed from your phone and a new backup is created. However, old backups that contain the deleted messages still use iCloud space. You can delete old backups from Settings, then your name, then iCloud, then Manage Storage to free up that space.
Can I delete messages from a specific date or sender?
iPhone does not have a built-in filter to delete messages by date or sender. You must delete them manually — either one at a time, by entire conversation, or by selecting multiple conversations with the Edit button. There is no way to search for messages from a specific person and delete them all at once.