How to Delete Messages from the iPhone

By Glenda V. Such, M. Ed.

There are several ways to accomplish this and everyone has the one way they prefer. For me, as a teacher, I will show you the one way that seems easiest to do for multiple message deletions

 

 

For those of you who are not using Voice Over, when the directions below tell you to double tap, you need only tap once. You also don’t do the flicking action to get to an item. You just scroll down the page until you see the item you are being directed to, then you do the single tap with one finger.

 

For those of you using Voice Over, follow the directions below specifically using the actions I will describe.

 

 

1.    Either double tap on the icon for the Messages  app, or just tell Siri to open Messages. Do make sure it is messages and not Messenger, they are not the same app.

2.   When it opens, usually the app will have your focus of your Voice Over just below where you need to be next, so flick right to left to get to the option “Edit,” and double tap with one finger.

3.   Even though you will hear the word Cancel, you are in the mode to select all the messages you want to delete from your list. If you do in fact want to cancel, double tap on that option and it will return you to the main list again.

4.   If you do want to delete messages right now, flick left to right to go to the first message you want to delete and double tap with one finger.

5.   You will hear it say “selected” and then it will read the name of the text message again.

6.   To select more than just that one text message, flick left to right to the next one you want to delete and double tap with one finger.

7.   If you selected one by accident, double tap with one finger again and the select will be removed from that message.

8.   To skip messages that you want and only delete certain ones from the list, flick left to right again and don’t double tap just keep flicking left to right to the next one you do want to delete.

9.   Double tap on all the messages you want to delete and then get ready for a new move.

10.                  On the bottom right corner of the iPhone, you will need to do an action that is hard to describe.

11.                  If you put your thumb very near that bottom right corner of your screen, but around one-half inch into the screen and at around the ten o’clock position, then squeeze the iPhone with your thumb and pull your thumb into the very bottom right hand corner.

12.                  If you did this well, you will hear the word delete. That is correct.

13.                  If you did not hear delete, try that action again until you get it to say delete.

14.                  Once you hear that word, then you can double tap one finger anywhere on the lower two thirds of the screen and it will delete all those messages you selected.

15.                  If when you are done, you want to go to the top of the screen, gently tap one finger around one inch from the top of the screen to move the Voice Over speech up from where it just was when you found the delete option.

As I said, there are other ways to delete messages but this one is the best for deleting multiple messages all at one time.

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