You can only take back a message within two minutes of sending it. The recipient can read your message before you unsend it. If you unsend a message, it will disappear from the recipient's screen, but they'll be notified that you unsent it.
Note: Deleting messages changes only your own Messages conversations, not those of your recipients.
Once it lands in someone else's inbox, it is not your message anymore, it is theirs, and nobody else can remove it. You cannot affect the message on the other phone. If you delete it on your phone it does not delete it from the recipients phone.
You will have up to 10 minutes to remove a message after it is sent. If you want to remove a message just for yourself, you can still do that anytime by selecting “Remove for You”. When you choose this option, the message will be removed for you, but not for anybody else in the chat.
"If it's for national security, they will open it up, if they want it, they will find it." When you delete a piece of data from your device — a photo, video, text or document — it doesn't vanish. Instead, your device labels that space as available to be overwritten by new information.
Can you Unsend a Text Message? There is no way to unsend a text message or iMessage unless you cancel the message before it was sent.
When you delete a message, the message only disappears from your Messages thread, not from your contacts' threads. To remove a message that you accidentally sent from everyone's threads, use undo send.
Press and hold the message you want to unsend. A Quick Actions menu will appear. Tap Undo Send. Undo Send works up to two minutes after sending.
A new iOS 16 feature lets you unsend text messages on your iPhone. After you send an iMessage, you'll have 15 minutes to unsend it and delete it from everyone's phone. Unsending only works when you're texting another person who has iOS 16 or newer.
Hiding specific contacts or conversations on an iPhone
Step 1: Click on the message you want to block. Step 2: Tap the contact's name at the top of the message to open the taskbar. Step 3: Toggle Hide Alerts to the on position.
How to Tell if Text Messages were Deleted. To tell if text messages were deleted from your iPhone, what you will need is PhoneRescue for iOS. Because it allows you to scan your iPhone, then you can preview all messages and iMessage on your iPhone, including deleted ones.
In most cases, you can't unsend a text message you've already sent on your Android. Once you send a text in your Android's built-in texting app, it's out of your hands.
If you use Messages as your default messaging app, deleted conversations will also be deleted from your device. If you delete a conversation or message, it cannot be recovered. This action is permanent.
To delete a message, long tap on the corresponding message and select the trash icon in the top menu. Tap on “Delete for everyone”. Tap on “Delete for everyone”.
Anonymous Texting Services
Among the options most commonly used is anonymoustext.com, where you can send a text message with complete privacy for a fee. This isn't a long-term option, but if you only need to send one private text, you could try this out.
If an Android user has blocked you, Lavelle says, “your text messages will go through as usual; they just won't be delivered to the Android user.” It's the same as an iPhone, but without the “delivered” notification (or lack thereof) to clue you in.
Attempt calling on iPhone or Android
Calling is an easier way to determine if someone blocked your number. First, call from your phone number. If the call goes to voicemail, listen to the message. If you receive a message that the number is unavailable, it generally means the recipient blocked you.
You can do this by archiving messages in the Messages app, or by installing an app with a password-protected mailbox feature such as GO SMS Pro.