Forward a text by holding down the message and tapping Share

Open the conversation with the text you want to forward. Press and hold the specific message until a menu appears. Tap More (the three dots icon), then tap Share. Choose how you want to send it — Messages, Mail, Notes, or another app — and pick who receives it.

The forwarded message arrives as a new text to whoever you send it to. They see the original message text, but not the sender's name or the date it was originally sent. If you forward a message with a photo or video attached, that media comes along too.

This method works on any iPhone model running iOS 16 or later. If you have an older iPhone, you may not see the More option — in that case, try pressing and holding until the message highlights, then look for a Forward button directly in the menu.

Key Takeaways

  • Press and hold a text message, tap More, then tap Share to forward it through Messages, Mail, or another app.
  • The person who receives the forwarded message sees only the text content, not the original sender's name or timestamp.
  • Photos and videos attached to the original message forward along with the text.
  • You can forward multiple messages at once by tapping More and selecting all the ones you want to send together.
  • Forwarding through Messages sends it as a new text; forwarding through Mail sends it as an email.

Forward multiple messages at the same time

If you need to send several messages from the same conversation, you can select them all before forwarding. Press and hold the first message until the menu appears, then tap More. Now tap each additional message you want to include — a checkmark appears next to each one you select.

Once you have selected all the messages you need, tap Share at the bottom right. Choose your forwarding method and recipient. All the selected messages go through as a group, in the order they were originally sent.

This saves time if someone asks you to send them a whole conversation or a series of related texts. You do not have to forward each message one at a time.

Forward through Messages versus Mail

When you tap Share, you see several options for how to send the message. Messages sends it as a text to another iPhone, Android phone, or any device that receives SMS. Mail sends it as an email instead. Choose Messages if the person you are forwarding to uses text messaging; choose Mail if you want it to arrive in their email inbox.

You can also share to Notes, which saves the message to your Notes app instead of sending it to someone else. This is useful if you want to keep a copy for your own records without forwarding it anywhere.

The choice does not change what the recipient sees — the message text remains the same. Only the delivery method changes.

What the person receiving the forwarded message sees

When you forward a text, the recipient gets the message content but loses some context. They do not see who originally sent it, what time it was sent, or any earlier messages in that conversation. It arrives as a standalone message from you.

If the original message included a photo, video, or link, those come through intact. The recipient can open them the same way they would open any attachment in a text or email.

This is different from taking a screenshot, which would show the sender's name and timestamp. Forwarding is cleaner if you just want to pass along the message itself.

Troubleshooting: The Share button does not appear

If you press and hold a message and do not see a More option or Share button, your iPhone may be running an older version of iOS. Forwarding through the Share menu became standard in iOS 16. Check your iOS version by going to Settings > General > About and looking at the Software Version number.

If you are on iOS 15 or earlier, try pressing and holding the message and looking for a Forward button directly in the first menu that appears. Some older versions show it there instead of under More. If neither option shows up, your iPhone model may not support message forwarding — in that case, copying the text and pasting it into a new message is the workaround.

Make sure you are holding down the message itself, not the conversation thread. Holding the conversation name at the top does not bring up the forwarding menu.

Forward a message from a group chat

Forwarding works the same way in group conversations as it does in one-on-one texts. Press and hold the message you want to forward, tap More, then tap Share. You can send it to an individual, to a different group chat, or through email.

The recipient does not see that the message came from a group conversation — it arrives as a regular message from you. If you want the person to know it came from a group, you would need to mention that in a separate message.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I forward a message to multiple people at once?

No, the Share menu lets you pick one recipient at a time. If you need to send the same message to several people, forward it once, then repeat the process for each person. You can do this quickly by using the same forwarding steps multiple times.

Does the original sender know I forwarded their message?

No, there is no notification sent to the person who originally texted you. Forwarding is silent on their end — they have no way to know unless you tell them.

Can I forward a message that was sent to me weeks ago?

Yes, you can forward any message in your conversation history, no matter how old it is. As long as the message is still in your Messages app, you can press and hold it and forward it.

What happens if I forward a message with a photo that is no longer on my phone?

If the photo was deleted from your iPhone but still appears in the conversation thread, it usually forwards successfully. The message app keeps a copy of media in conversations even if you delete it from your Photos app. However, if the photo was deleted and is no longer visible in the conversation, you cannot forward it.

Can I edit a message before forwarding it?

No, you cannot edit the message content through the forwarding menu. If you need to change the text, copy it manually, paste it into a new message, make your edits, and send it that way instead.