How to View Unsent Messages on iPhone: A Step-by-Step Guide

Everybody, regardless of how long they’ve been texting, has sent a message they quickly (even instantly) regret. So, you’ve certainly unsent a message yourself or been the recipient of an unsent message, thanks to the built-in “unsend” options used on most messaging clients these days — iMessage on iOS 16+ included. 

But what if curiosity gets the better of you and you want to view your friend’s unsent message? Or perhaps you changed your mind and decided to resend your previous unsent message? Can you view them?

Unfortunately, the iPhone doesn’t have a native way to view unsent messages. However, there are a few tips, tricks, and tools you can take advantage of to retrieve drafts, incomplete messages, and interrupted communications.

In the following sections, we’ll answer your burning, “How to view unsent messages on iPhone” question succinctly as possible. We’ll look at everything from uncovering failed sends, to finding iMessage drafts, to unveiling incomplete typed texts.

Without further ado, let’s jump into the details.

How to Check Draft Messages in iMessage

If you’ve always had an iPhone, what we’re about to say next won’t come as a surprise, but if you’ve recently moved over from Android, then you’re in for a shock — there is no drafts folder in iMessage. Yes, it’s 2024 and you can’t see past draft messages: what has the world come to?

But all hope isn’t lost. Thankfully, iMessage automatically saves your message in the text input field, allowing you to switch between conversations without losing your words.

Just start typing your message, do what you need to do elsewhere (leaving the iMessage app open in the background), and navigate back to the conversation. Your message will be right where you left it. That’s all there is to it.

Note: Many iPhone users complain that their soon-to-be sent messages disappear. And, as iPhone users ourselves, we’ve sadly run into this problem before. And no, there isn’t any way to retrieve them. So, to minimize this risk, try not to leave the iMessage app for too long when composing messages (especially long, important ones). Otherwise, you may well need to start again. Or keep important drafts in your Notes app, as explained in the next tip!

If you’ve accidentally deleted a conversation and want to recover an unsent/draft message in iMessage, there is a way you can (potentially) do just that. Here are the steps:

1. Navigate to the Messages app on your iPhone.
2. In the conversation list, tap Edit. It’s in the top-left corner.
3. Then, select Show Recently Deleted. 
4. Choose the conversation whose messages you want to restore.
5. Hit Recover.
6. Select Recover Messages.

This may retrieve the message you’re searching for. However, this is certainly not a foolproof method! Also, it’s worth noting that if you’ve deleted a message from a conversation using “Undo Send,” that message is permanently deleted and you cannot retrieve it.

View Unsent Messages on macOS Desktop

If someone unsends an iMessage on your iPhone, you typically see a notification that a message was removed. However, on macOS, if your Messages app is open when the message is sent, you might still be able to view it before it gets deleted. This happens because macOS doesn’t always sync message deletions instantly, especially if there’s a slight delay in network synchronization.

To check for unsent messages, open the Messages app on your Mac and look through the conversation history. If the message was removed, but your Mac had already loaded it, you might still find it visible in the chat preview or notifications. However, once iCloud sync catches up, the message will disappear permanently.

Recovering Messages from the Notes App

As we’ve alluded to above to, some people jot down unsent messages in their Notes app to keep them safe and sound until they’re ready to send — and to avoid the annoying mysterious disappearance that can sometimes occur on iMessage. 

If you’ve done this, retrieving the message is easy. Here’s how to do it:

1. Navigate to the Notes app on your iPhone.
2. If it opens on the Folders page, tap Notes under the iCloud heading.
3. Then, tap the note containing your message. Notes automatically sort by date of creation, so you may find sections dubbed, “Yesterday,” “Previous 30 Days,” and so on, depending on how regularly you use the app. 

But what happens if you delete the note containing your unsent message (accidentally or otherwise)? Don’t panic; Notes comes with a Recently Deleted section, allowing you to quickly and easily recover your words.

On iPhone, follow these steps to find your recently deleted note:

1. Navigate to the Notes app.
2. Head to the Folders page.
3. Look under the iCloud heading for the Recently Deleted folder. 
4. Tap Recently Deleted.
5. Tap the note you wish to recover.
6. Choose Recover.
7. If you do not see the Recently Deleted folder, then you haven’t deleted any notes recently. Be aware that notes stay in this folder for 30 days only. After that time, they are permanently deleted.

You can also recover and edit notes by heading to iCloud.com on your computer. Here’s how to do that:

1. Navigate to iCloud.com.
2. Choose Recently Deleted in the folder list. This will be on the left-hand side of your screen. If you don’t see it, then you haven’t deleted any notes recently and there is nothing to recover.
3. Select the note containing your unsent message.
4. Click Recover in the app’s toolbar.
5. The note will move back to your usual Notes folder.

Using iCloud Backups to Retrieve Unsent Messages

Apple’s iCloud storage service, particularly its “iCloud backup” feature, is super handy when you need/want to retrieve unsent/lost messages or drafts from more than 30 days ago.

However, you need to be incredibly careful when restoring your iPhone to an iCloud backup before the time you deleted or lost the message(s). Why? Because doing so means you’ll lose everything since that point.

With that in mind, follow these steps to recover texts using an iCloud backup:

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap your name at the top of the app.
3. Select iCloud.
4. Then choose Manage Account Storage.
5. Tap Backups. It’s located about halfway down your screen.
6. Select your device to see when it was last backed up prior to you deleting or losing the messages.
7. Head back to the main Settings menu.
8. Select General.
9. Tap Transfer or Reset iPhone. You’ll need to scroll down to find this option.
10. Choose Erase All Content and Settings.
11. Your iPhone will restart and the setup will begin. 
12. Choose Restore from an iCloud backup. 
13. Make doubly sure to pick up the backup date before when you delete or lose your messages.
14. You’ve succeeded in retrieving your unsent messages!

If you’re scared about the prospect of losing your most recent data, you can use iCloud Merge to restore messages without completely resetting your iPhone. However, it doesn’t always work because iCloud won’t back up text messages for particular reasons.

You may be lucky though, so here’s how to do it:

1. Using a web browser, log into your iCloud account.
2. Select Text Messages.
3. Look through your message list until you find the one you want to retrieve.
4. Open your iPhone’s Settings app.
5. Tap your name at the top of the app.
6. Select iCloud.
7. Toggle the Messages option off. 
8. In the pop-up window select Keep On My iPhone.
9. Then, toggle Messages back on.
10. Select Merge.
11. After a few minutes, your deleted/lost texts should reappear in your Messages app.

Can Third-Party Apps Help Recover Unsent Messages?

There are third-party apps that can recover unsent or deleted messages. However, that doesn’t mean they’re all worth your time. Those that aren’t properly developed and designed with safety and security in mind can lead to unfortunate data breaches. So, you need to choose the third-party app wisely.

Our advice? Choose PhoneRescue. We’ve tested many apps, and this one is the best by far. 

Boasting a 100% success rate, PhoneRescue securely recovers your data without risking your sensitive information. It’s already helped millions of iOS users in its five years of life, upholding its value that “data loss is never permanent.” Not to mention it’s super easy to use!

How to Unsend Messages on iPhone

As you already know, you can unsend messages on iMessage to retrieve a message you accidentally sent to the wrong person (or a message you’ve decided not to send at all). And thankfully, doing so is incredibly easy — although you only have two minutes after sending to do it!

Here are the steps:

1. Navigate to the Messages app on your iPhone.
2. Touch and hold the message bubble.
3. Hit Undo Send.
4. A note stating that you unsent the message appears in your and your recipient’s conversation transcript. 

You don’t need to unsend an entire message to fix one typo. Instead, you can edit recently sent messages up to five times within 15 minutes of sending by:

1. Touching and holding the message bubble.
2. Tapping Edit.
3. Making your changes.
4. Hitting the blue checkmark icon to resend the message with your edits.
5. The message will be marked as edited in the transcript and your updates are reflected on both your and your recipient’s device.

How Family Orbit Can Help Monitor Messages

While Family Orbit doesn’t retrieve unsent messages, it’s a great parental monitoring tool that allows you to view your children’s sent, received, and deleted messages for comprehensive tracking and safeguarding. In a digitally intense world, this is the perfect tool to keep your kids secure while allowing them some virtual independence.

The Bottom Line

You can’t recover all drafts, but by using the proper tools (PhoneRescue, iCloud backups, Recently Deleted folder, and Family Orbit) you can manage your (and your children’s) texting environment effectively.