How to see unsent messages on an iPhone

Apple offers a neat feature with iMessage on the best iPhones that allows you to unsend a message. Maybe you sent something in error, sent a message to the wrong person, or regret sending it in haste and want to modify it. You can retract a message you send, as can others who send something to you. But is there a way to see that message anyway after it has been unsent? The short answer is no, but there are some workarounds and ways to see unsent messages from other apps beyond iMessage.

See unsent messages with an older iOS version

The bad news is that you can’t see an unsent message if you’re using an iPhone running iOS 16 or higher (or an iPad operating iPadOS 16.1 or higher or a Mac computer with macOS 13 Ventura or higher). That would defeat the purpose of being able to unsend a message, after all, so it makes sense that Apple prevents this. But there’s one thing worth noting: you can see an unsent message if you’re using an older OS, running iOS 15 or lower. However, now that we're almost two years removed from iOS 16's debut, it's going to be less likely that people have a device running iOS 15 or earlier.

If you really want to see an unsent message, check your Mac. We typically update our Macs less frequently than our phones, so there's a better chance your computer is running macOS 12 Monterey or lower. If you have a very old Mac around the house, that's even better.

When someone unsends a message using an iPhone running an older OS, you will see that the person unsent a message. Instead of the entire text of the message being deleted, there is a note that the person removed or edited the message along with the original text that was “unsent.” For this to work, you need to have Messages enabled for iCloud, iCloud Keychain turned on, and two-factor authentication.

Don’t use iMessage

It’s not a great workaround, but if you don’t use iMessage, choosing to stick only with SMS, the sender can’t unsend a message that has already been sent. You can turn off iMessage without turning off data entirely by going to Settings, Messages, and turning the switch beside iMessage to the “off” position. This isn’t an ideal solution, but if you feel someone is being secretive, it’s at least a viable temporary workaround.

Tweak notifications settings in Messenger

Using the Messenger app, there’s a clever way to ensure you always see messages, even if someone unsends them.

1. Open Messenger.

2. Select the three lines in the top left corner.

3. Select the gear icon.

4. Scroll down and select Notifications and sounds.

5. If it isn’t already on, select Turn on notifications. This will take you to the Settings menu for Messenger.

6. Select Notifications.

7. Tap the slider on the right to turn it on (it will turn green).

8. Under Show Previews, change it from When Unlocked (the default setting) to Always.

9. Under Banner Style, select Persistent.

10. Now, any time you receive a Messenger message, a preview will show up on your iPhone's home screen. Even if the person unsends the message, the Preview has already been delivered, and you can view it from the home screen before it’s removed from the actual Messenger app.

Unsending messages can be useful

It can be useful to unsend a message you didn’t mean to send. You might have accidentally sent your child’s teacher the grocery list you meant to send your spouse or your boss a message you meant to send to your co-worker. Whatever the situation, the feature is there for a reason. So, Apple purposely makes it virtually impossible to see a message that has been unsent by the sender, even when using the latest iPhone models, like the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

This works both ways, so as much as your curiosity might get the best of you about what someone sent then unsent, the same might go for them the next time you find yourself using the tool. The best thing to do is move on and focus on the messages people want to send to you and those you want to send to them.