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text messages make it simple to share birthday greetings, coordinate weekend activities, send images, and more. However, this deceptively simple program is jam-packed with capabilities that can help it reach its full potential. Are you looking for a way to ban text messages on your iPhone®? Are you looking for a way to hide text messages? Do you want to keep spammers at bay?
NOTE: These steps are for iPhones running iOS® 15 unless otherwise indicated.
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1. How to block messages on iPhone
o block messages from a specific person or phone number, follow these steps:
- Open the Messages conversation with the person or number you want to block.
- Tap the name or number at the top, then tap info.
- Scroll down and tap Block this Caller > Block Contact. They won’t know that you’ve blocked them.
After you’ve blocked a contact or phone number, any messages sent or received won’t be delivered. And while someone you’ve blocked can still leave a voicemail, you won’t receive a notification.
To manage your list of blocked contacts and numbers, go to Settings > Messages > Blocked Contacts.
2. How to search messages on your iPhone
Here are two ways to search your iPhone messages.
THE MESSAGES APP
- Open Messages, then pull down the screen so you can see the Search bar up top.
- Type the name or keyword you’re looking for.
- Relevant threads will show up. Tap one of those conversations to read it, or tap See All in the upper-right corner to view a full list of related conversations.
IPHONE SEARCH
- Go to the Home screen and swipe down from the middle.
- Tap the Search field, then enter the name or keyword you’re looking for. Search results will update in real time.
- To see more results, tap Show More Results. You can also search directly in an app by scrolling down and tapping Search in App.
- Tap a search result to open it.
3. HOW TO UNPIN A CONVERSATION ON YOUR IPHONE
There are two ways to remove pinned conversations at the top of your Messages list.
- Touch and hold a conversation, then drag it into your list of conversations.
- Touch and hold a conversation, then tap the Unpin icon (a tack with a line through it).
4. How to attach a file in iPhone Messages
- Touch and hold the file you want to send.
- Tap Share.
- You can send a smaller version of the file by tapping Compress instead. Then simply touch and hold the compressed version (called a zip file) and tap Share.
- Select Messages, then type the name of the contact you are sending it to, and tap Send.
5. How to change your profile picture and name in iPhone Messages
- Open your Messages app, then tap Edit in the upper-left corner.
- Choose Edit Name and Photo.
- Edit your name. You can also tap the image circle to choose an image, photo, emoji, or Memoji™.
- Tap Done.
You can share your name and photo with anyone using iPhone Messages, but first you’ll have to confirm that you want to share when sending or replying to a new message. To turn sharing on—or off—repeat steps 1–2, then tap to turn Name and Photo Sharing on or off.