How to Delete Text Messages on iPhone, iPad or iPod

Authored by: Support.com Tech Pro Team

1. Introduction

If you send and receive lots of text messages, those messages can accumulate and take up quite a significant amount of space on your device. Not only does your device store all the text messages that you send and receive, but it also hangs onto photo and video attachments as well. This guide will teach you how to free up space by removing messages.

Be careful when deleting text messages from your device, as there is no practical way to retrieve them once they have been removed.

2. Delete a Message

  1. Open Messages.
Messages iOS icon
  1. Open the conversation.
Highlighted iOS conversation
  1. Tap and hold the message you want to delete.
iOS selected message.
  1. A menu will pop up.
  2. Tap More.
iOS text menu showing more highlighted
  1. Circles will appear next to each message.
  2. Tap the circle next to the message you want to delete.
Message selection circles
  1. Tap the trash can icon.
iOS trash can icon for deleting messages
  1. Confirm you want to delete the message by tapping Delete.
Delete messages on iOS

3. Delete a Conversation

  1. Open Messages.
Messages iOS icon
  1. Locate the conversation you want to delete.
iOS conversation
  1. Swipe Left.
Swiping left on iOS to delete conversation
  1. Select Delete.
iOS deleting a conversation