11 iMessage Hacks and Tricks to Become an Expert.
Whether you’re new to iMessage or looking for ways to make texting easier or more fun, you’ve come to the right place.
Here are 11 iMessage tricks you can use to spruce up your messages, make group texts less confusing, say exactly how you feel, and more on your Apple devices.
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1. Use Bubble and Screen Effects
The Messages app gives you several ways to make your texting more enjoyable. You can use bubble and screen effects to add some flair.
Using the bubble effect, you can have a message splash onto the screen or appear in invisible ink. Using screen effects, you can send your message with confetti or fireworks.
On iPhone and iPad, type your message, then press and hold the Send button (blue arrow). Choose a bubble effect or a screen effect at the top. On a Mac, type in a message, click the App Store button (gray letter A) on the left, and select Message Effects.
Select an effect to preview. If you like it, click the send button to send the message to the recipient.
2. Pin Conversations
If you have certain contacts that you frequently message, you can pin those conversations to the top of the Messages app for quick and easy access. This is one of the new features introduced in iOS 14, iPadOS 14 and macOS 11.
On iPhone and iPad, touch and hold the conversation, then select Pin. On a Mac, right-click the conversation and select Pin.
You’ll see pinned conversations as large icons at the top of the list. Select, hold, and slide to reorder pinned conversations. You can have up to nine contacts.
To remove a pin, press and hold on iPhone and iPad and select Unpin. On a Mac, right-click a pinned conversation and select Unpin.
3. Send a Tapback
One of the easiest ways to acknowledge a message without entering your own is Tapback.
On iPhone and iPad, touch and hold a tooltip. On a Mac, right-click and select Tapback. Then select thumbs up, thumbs down, laugh, love, exclamation mark or question mark.
Your answer will be attached to a tooltip.
4. Use Inline Replies
When you have a long conversation or group chat, there may be a specific message that you want to reply to. Unfortunately, messages can get lost when there are a lot of them. You can reply to specific text in an iMessage conversation using inline replies.
On iPhone and iPad, press and hold on a message, or in iMessage on Mac, right-click it. Then select Reply.
You will see that message is highlighted and the rest of the conversation is blurred. Enter your message and hit send.
When you and your recipients view the conversation, you will see a line from your reply to the actual message you are replying to, and that message will be displayed in blue on a white background. Select the original message to view the mini-conversation separately.
You and your recipient can continue a sort of side conversation about that particular original message without confusing it with other texts in the conversation.
5. Mention a Contact
Another iMessage trick to avoid confusion, especially in group chats, is the use of mentions. For example, mentioning someone on Slack, Facebook or some other communication apps, you can use mentions in messages.
Just type the @ symbol in front of the contact’s name. Then select their name, which is grayed out, and select the person in the pop-up window. Enter your message and that’s it!
This draws attention to the person you mentioned by highlighting their name so they know you’re talking directly to them. To make it even easier, you can get alerts when someone mentions you.
On iPhone and iPad, go to Settings > Messages and turn on the “Notify me” toggle under Mentions.
On a Mac, go to Messages > Preferences > General and select the Notify me when my name is mentioned checkbox.
6. Add a Group Name and Photo
Another great feature for group chats is name and photo naming. Name your group something neat or meaningful, such as “Best Friends,” “Family,” or “Our Team.” Then assign a nifty image to make the group conversation easy to spot.
On iPhone and iPad, select a group conversation and tap the arrow next to People at the top. Select “Change name and photo”. Enter the name of the group, then take a photo or select a photo, emoji, or icon as a group photo. Select Done.
On a Mac, select a group conversation and click the Info icon (small “i”) in the upper right corner. Select “Change group name and photo.” Enter a name for the group and select a photo, emoji, or icon as the group photo. Select Done.
After that, you’ll have a cute or cool way to discover a group conversation when you need it.
7. Send an Audio Message
Sometimes words make more sense when they are spoken rather than written. Maybe you want to sincerely apologize or send your family the sound of your child’s laughter. Whatever sound you want for your text message, you can easily send it.
On iPhone and iPad, press and hold the sound wave icon to the right of the message box. Keep holding until you’re done, then release. On a Mac, click the audio wave icon, record the message, and click the Stop button when you’re done.To view the audio message, click the Play button to the left of it. To undo or overwrite the entry, press X.Then select Send as with any other message.
By default, audio messages on iPhone and iPad expire two minutes after you listen to them. You can change this by going to Settings > Messages and changing the Expiration Time under Audio Messages.
Alternatively, you can save individual audio messages by selecting “Save to iPhone, iPad, and Mac” below the message.
8. Share Your Location
Maybe your buddy is meeting you, or you’re lost and need help. You can send your current location or share your location for a specific period of time via messages.
On iPhone and iPad, tap the arrow next to the contact’s name at the top. On a Mac, click the Info icon to chat.
To send your location immediately, select Send My Current Location. To share your location for a period such as one hour or the rest of the day, select Share My Location and choose an option. (You can also share your location indefinitely or until you manually stop it.)
This sends a message to the recipient with your location on the map. If they select this message, the Apple Maps app will open, where they can get directions to your location.
9. Enable the One-Handed Keyboard
You can also send text messages to your iPhone using the one-handed keyboard. This shrinks the Messages keyboard slightly and moves it to one side of the screen, allowing you to reach all the keys with one hand.
To enable the one-handed keyboard, press and hold the emoji or globe icon on your keyboard. You will see a tiny pop-up window with options. At the bottom, select the right or left icon to enable and move the one-handed keyboard to that side of the screen.
To stop using the one-handed keyboard, tap the arrow on the side to expand it to full size, or select the center icon in the pop-up window.
10. Handwrite, Draw, or Send a Heartbeat
Apple’s iMessage app goes further than effects, audio messages, and typing. You can also write a message, draw it, or send a heartbeat or touch.
On iPhone and iPad, press the App Store button and select Digital Touch, which looks like two fingers on a heart.
To write or draw by hand, tap the dark rectangle in the center with your finger. You can click on a color from the palette on the left if you like. When you’re done, click the “Submit” button.
To send a message on the move, tap the video camera icon. You can then draw, write, or use the camera to take a picture. Draw the image in the center and hit “Submit” when you’re done. Your recipient will receive the message as if you were composing it in real time.
To send a pulse, tap and hold the rectangle with two fingers.To send a tap, just tap the rectangle.
Note. Unlike iOS users for iPhone, Digital Touch messages will appear as images on smartphones and Android devices.
11. Show Message Times
One of the easiest ways to hack iMessage that many don’t know about is to view the conversation time. For example, you might see a message from your friend and wonder how long ago he sent it.
On iPhone and iPad, swipe the conversation screen from right to left. On a Mac, use the trackpad or Magic Mouse to navigate the screen, or right-click the conversation and select Show Time. The time is displayed briefly on the right.
Hopefully these iMessage hacks will help you use Messages more efficiently on iPhone, iPad or Mac. For more fun or a faster text message, you have plenty of options.
Remember that you can also use the Memoji feature and add stickers!
11 iMessage Hacks and Tricks to Become an Expert
11 iMessage Hacks and Tricks to Become an Expert