People are just noticing three iMessage hacks that all iPhone owners should know

USING iMessage without knowing its best secrets is a big mistake.

We’ve picked three of the most interesting iMessage tricks that all iPhone owners should know.

1

Hidden effects

After you’ve typed out a message, you can tap and hold the blue send button to attach any of the following.

• Eco – Fills the screen with message bubbles
• Spotlight – Puts a spotlight on your message
• Balloons – Balloons rise up from the bottom of your screen
• Confetti – Confetti rains down
• Love – Large heart bulges from your message
• Lasers – Laser light show
• Fireworks – Fireworks explode on your screen
• Shooting star –  A shooting star fires across the screen
• Celebration – A red firework show appears

Remember: None of these effects will show unless the recipient also has an iPhone.

And these effects are limited to iMessage only – so they won’t work on WhatsApp, Signal or Facebook Messenger.

Secret codewords

iMessage has loads of advantages, but one little-known perk is the selection of secret effect codes.

Apple tucked them away as Easter eggs, but they’re a seriously cool iPhone hack that you should definitely try out.

For instance, try opening an iMessage chat and typing “Pew Pew”.

You’ll find that the screen is filled with lasers – for both you AND the recipient.

There are some other app codes you can try too.

Sending the message “Congrats” causes confetti to rain down.

And the same works if you write “congratulations” in a different language too.

Typing “Happy Birthday” will trigger balloons to float across the screen.

Unsend and edit

A hidden iMessage menu allows you to edit or unsend texts.

That allows you to instantly fix any typos, accidental messages or a text that you regret.

It was added in the iOS 16 software update for iPhone, which is available on millions of phones.

You can get it by going to Settings > General > Software Update.

Not all iMessages can be tweaked or deleted: there’s a time limit.

You only have 15 minutes to make any changes to a text before the option runs out.

Simply hold down on the message to bring up a hidden menu, and this will allow you to edit it.

Recipients will be alerted when a text has been edited.

However it won’t be possible to see exactly what changes have been made – unless you had previously seen the message and remembered what it said.

You can also unsend an iMessage on iOS 16 within the first 15 minutes by holding down on the text.

But don’t think you can do it silently.

Just like on WhatsApp, if a text has been “unsent” then a note will appear for both the sender and recipient.

This will stop any confusion once a text has vanished.

Best Phone and Gadget tips and hacks

Looking for tips and hacks for your phone? Want to find those secret features within social media apps? We have you covered…

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