Deleting a message from your iPhone normally removes it only from your devices. It does not erase the recipient’s copy. The exception is a recently sent iMessage, which can be retracted with Undo Send for a short time.
- Open Messages and open the conversation.
- Touch and hold the iMessage you want to retract.
- Tap Undo Send. This option is available for up to two minutes after sending an eligible iMessage.
- Check the conversation for the notice confirming that you unsent a message.
Ordinary SMS, MMS, and RCS messages cannot generally be unsent this way. Deleting a message or conversation with the trash controls only removes your copy and does not change what the recipient sees. Older Apple software can also affect whether an unsent iMessage disappears for the other person.