One Of iMessage's Best Features Is Finally Rolling Out For Android Users

The ability to unsend a dangerous typo in messaging apps, or even in emails, is a godsend. Services like WhatsApp, iMessage, and Messenger have offered it for years. But it wasn't until 2025 that Google started testing a version of the feature for its Messages platform, which is available as a standalone mobile app and works on the web. Google's implementation, however, comes with a small twist. Instead of a proper "unsend" or "undo send" system that you would see in Apple's iMessage service, Google's Messages lets you delete the message(s) on your end, and the sender as well as the recipient. If you've used WhatsApp, you will find the exact same UI in Google's RCS-enabled messaging service, as well.

If you rely on the Messages app for one-on-one chats or group conversations, just follow these steps:

1. Long-press on the Message bubble that you want to delete until you see it change color, and it appears selected with a checkmark on the left side.
2. Once a message is selected, you will see a trash can icon at the top.
3. When you tap on the trash (aka delete) icon, it will open a dialog box where you will get two options.
4. Tapping on the "Delete for me" option only erases the message for the sender, but it will continue to appear just fine for the recipient. If you select "Delete for everyone," it will be wiped for both sides in the chat. Once a message is deleted in Messages, the text is removed from the chat bubble and replaced by a "Message deleted" alert.

The ability to delete texts in the Messages app is now widely available for users running the stable build of the app on Android. I tested it on a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and a Google Pixel 9 running the public version of Android 16. The message deletion feature worked just fine, as described above. However, when I tried using the web version of Messages on a desktop browser, it didn't work. I was only able to delete the messages on my end, and didn't see the action window where you can choose to erase messages for the sender, or both parties. While running a web instance of Messages on an iPhone, the feature again didn't work.

So far, it's safe to assume that the ability to unsend (or delete sent) messages is limited to the mobile app. A Google Product Expert on the official support forum mentions that the feature only works when both sides have enabled RCS protocol chats in the Messages app. Messages that you send as an SMS or MMS don't offer the unsend facility yet. More importantly, the window for which you can delete a message for the recipient (s) is "typically about 15 to 40 minutes after sending." If the feature is not working for you yet, try checking for any pending updates via the Google Play Store. And while at it, ensure that RCS messaging is enabled in the app, as well.