How to add effects, reply to Android texts
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iMessage tips and tricks for beginners
Here are three iMessage features you need to know.
ProblemSolved, USA TODAY
Text messaging has evolved a lot since the first text message was sent in December 1992.
United States mobile users sent around 2 trillion text messages in 2021, according to the website Statista. This is a significant increase from the 81 billion sent in 2005.
Decades of texting have seen emoticons made from colon and parenthesis replaced by more obvious and emotive emojis.
Typos can be edited or entire messages unsent, and you can respond to a message without typing anything.
It’s also not uncommon to meet someone who prefers to communicate via text instead of phone or email.
But there is so much more to these digital interactions than just sending some text.
How to add effects on iMessage
iMessage has built-in effects that can add some extra pizazz when messaging between Apple devices.
To find these effects, press and hold the blue arrow that sends the message. Then the options appear.
To see this in action, watch this video.
Effects include:
- Balloons
- Confetti
- Lasers
- Echo
- Invisible ink
Either the blue bubble or the entire screen will be animated depending on the effect you choose.
Animations appear automatically when sending a message that says “Happy birthday,” “Congratulations” or “Happy New Year.”
How do I react or reply to a text?
Whether you’re in a group text or carrying on multiple conversations in one message, things can get confusing.
Android and Apple devices allow users to reply to a specific message. This creates a thread and attaches the related conversations to one another, making it much easier to follow the conversations.
To reply on Apple or Android devices, double-tap or long press on the message and the ‘reply’ option should appear.
Type your message, then hit send!
This only works when you’re messaging from one Apple device to another Apple device or from an Android to another Android.
If you’d rather reply without words, ‘reacting’ to a message is the way to go.
To react to a message, double-tap or long-press the message and select the preferred option.
Watch this video showing a demonstration of replying and reacting to a text.
How do I edit an iMessage?
To edit a text message:
- Hard press on the message bubble you want to edit
- Tap ‘edit’
- Make the changes you want
- Press the check mark to save the changes
Edits can only be made within 15 minutes of sending the message.
Unsending a message is very similar to editing one, but this can only be done within two minutes of sending.
To unsend a message:
- Hard press on the message bubble
- Select “unsend” from the dropdown menu
This feature only works if both devices are opening on iOS16 or higher.
Learn more about unsending and editing text messages here.