Email, Messaging, & Video Calls Texting & Messaging 285 285 people found this article helpful How to Delete Text Messages on iPhone Get rid of single messages or entire conversations by Sam Costello Writer Sam Costello has been writing about tech since 2000. His writing has appeared in publications such as CNN.com, PC World, InfoWord, and many others. our editorial process Facebook Twitter Sam Costello Updated on December 10, 2020 reviewed by Christine Baker Lifewire Tech Review Board Member Christine Baker is a marketing consultant with experience working for a variety of clients. Her expertise includes social media, web development, and graphic design. our review board Article reviewed on Mar 08, 2020 Christine Baker Tweet Share Email Texting & Messaging Email Texting & Messaging Video Calls What to Know Tap and hold a message. Then, tap More > trash can > Delete Message, or tap Delete All to delete the whole conversation. Another way to delete a conversation: Swipe right on the conversation and select trash can > Delete. Or, from the messages list, tap and hold the conversation and select Delete > Delete. This article explains how to delete a text message from the Messages app on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 12 and later. We'll demonstrate how to delete a single message or an entire conversation. There's no way to recover deleted texts, so make sure it's what you want to do. How to Delete Single Text Messages on iPhone If you want to delete a few individual messages from a conversation while leaving the rest of the messages in the conversation untouched, follow these steps: Tap Messages to open it. Tap the conversation that has the messages you want to delete in it. With the conversation open, tap and hold the message you want to delete until the menu pops up. Then tap More. A circle appears next to each individual message. Tap the circle next to a message to mark that message for deletion. A checkbox appears in that box, indicating that it will be deleted. Tap the circle next to all the messages you want to delete. Tap the trash can icon. Tap the Delete Message button in the pop-up menu (earlier versions of the iOS may have slightly different options in the menus, but they're similar enough that it shouldn't be confusing). Or, tap Delete All from the top left if you want to delete the entire conversation. If you change your mind about deleting any texts, tap Cancel. Lifewire / Catherine Song How to Delete Entire Text Message Conversations on iPhone Deleting an entire conversation in Messages requires a different set of steps. Here's how: Begin by opening Messages. If you were in a conversation when you last used the app, you'll return to that. In that case, tap the back arrow (or the Messages button, depending on what version of iOS you're running) in the top left corner to go to the list of conversations. Once you've found the conversation you want to delete, swipe right to left across it, and tap the trash can. Press Delete to confirm. Tap Cancel if you change your mind. If you're using a current iOS version, there's another option: From the messages list, tap and hold the conversation and select Delete > Delete. What to Do if Deleted Texts Keep Appearing on iPhone In some cases, texts that you've deleted can still be found on your phone. This may not be a big deal, but it can definitely be a problem if you're trying to keep some information private. If you're running into this problem, or want to know how to avoid it, check out Deleted Messages Still Showing Up? Do This. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up. Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit