When you send a message to the wrong person, can you claw it back? In some cases, the answer is absolutely yes. The delete button in modern messaging apps can do more than simply remove the copy of a chat from your device. It can also remove the message from the other person's device, like it never existed. Of course, there's a chance that the recipient of your text managed to view or save the message before you deleted it. As long as you know their limitations, features like "Unsend" in Apple Messages and "Delete for everyone" in Google Messages can help delete that message you didn't mean to send.
You're probably used to using disappearing chats or manually deleting them for everyone on apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, or Snapchat. It's easy to expect the same reliability from similar features in Apple Messages and Google Messages. However, Apple and Google use iMessage and Rich Communication Services (RCS) to power their message deletion features, and they aren't foolproof. A specific set of conditions must be met to successfully pull back an iMessage or RCS chat, and you won't know whether the person's device on the other end of the conversation meets them.
The delete button might not work for everyone
Apple and Google Messages offer the feature, but it's not a sure thing
Apple and Google were fairly late to the message deletion party — third-party messaging apps added the ability to remove chats from both sides of a conversation many years earlier. Apple offers the feature using iMessage, and Google offers it via RCS. Although the RCS messaging standard brings cross-platform support for many features to iPhone and Android users, message deletion isn't one of them. Apple's tool only works with iPhone-to-iPhone chats, whereas Google's tool only works with Android-to-Android chats. Herein lies the first problem: if you're messaging in a cross-platform chat and hit the delete button, the text won't be removed for the recipient.
Even if you happen to be using an iPhone-to-iPhone or Android-to-Android chat when you need to delete a message for everyone, there are more restrictions to consider. Google Messages added the "Delete for everyone" option to the app a year after it debuted as part of the RCS Universal Profile v2.7, and it's been widely available since last spring. You still need to be sure your Google Messages app is updated, though. The hard part is that the recipient must also have an up-to-date version of the Google Message app for the "Delete for everyone" button to appear.
Without both sides of the conversation having the latest version of the Google Messages app with RCS enabled, the delete button will only remove the message for one side of the conversation. If the chat falls back to SMS or MMS instead of RCS for any reason, the "Delete for everyone" option won't be available. Additionally, it's only available for 24 hours. After that, you'll only be able to delete it for yourself. The feature works in group chats, but instead of needing two people to use an updated Google Messages app with RCS enabled, you need the entire group to be up to speed.
It's a similar situation for iMessage's "Unsend" button. You need both parties to use iOS 16, iPadOS 16.1, macOS 13, or visionOS 1, or newer. If the person on the other end of the iMessage chat is using an older software version, the chat won't be unsent for everyone. You only have two minutes to undo a sent iMessage.
There's another catch specific to iMessage that makes the "Unsend" button a lot less useful. Someone could have their iPhone updated to the latest version, but their Mac could be running an older software version. So, the message will look like it was removed for everyone, but the recipient can check the Messages app on their Mac to see it.
The delete button in Google Messages works three ways
You might be able to recover the original messages in a deleted conversation
The Google Messages app has a delete button that looks the same, but can perform three different functions. It's a trash icon, and you can find it by long-pressing a message or a conversation. If you hold down a chat in a conversation between Google Messages users, you can tap the trash icon and choose either Delete for me or Delete for everyone. As the button describes, the latter option is the one to pick if you want to recall a message from the recipient's device. This will only appear if the specific conditions we've outlined are met.
In every other situation, holding down a message and pressing the trash icon will show a pop-up warning that "this action cannot be undone." You can tap the Delete button to confirm and remove the message, but Google Messages doesn't clarify whether you are deleting the chat for yourself or for everyone. This could cause some confusion, since the pop-ups for conversations between Google Messages users clearly differentiate the two. You may think this button deletes the chat for everyone, but unless you specifically see the Delete for everyone option, that isn't the case.
There's a third possibility, because Google Messages added a Trash folder with a March 2026 app update. When you long-press a chat in the Google Messages conversation list, you'll see the same trash icon as before. However, tapping this button doesn't instantly delete the entire chat. It moves the chat to the Trash folder for 30 days, and it can be recovered before then. It only moves the conversation to your Trash folder — the other person can still see the chats in the conversation.
The result is a Google Messages trash button that can do one of three things, and it's not always clear to the casual user which is which.
Use these apps instead to hide your messages
Apple and Google Messages aren't designed for disappearing chats
Credit: Brandon Miniman / MakeUseOf
I don't trust the message recall features available in Google Messages or Apple Messages, because there are a handful of reasons why the message might not get deleted for the recipient on the other end. Incompatible messaging standards, outdated app or operating system versions, and expired time limits can result in a message failing to delete for the other person. It's a good idea to assume that the recipient will always be able to see your sent messages, even if you press the "delete" or "undo send" buttons.
If being able to recall sent messages is important to you, don't count on Apple Messages or Google Messages. Instead, use a third-party app like WhatsApp or Telegram. WhatsApp will let you delete a message for everyone within 60 hours of sending it, and you don't have to worry about incompatible messaging standards or outdated operating systems. There's no time limit for deleting messages for everyone on Telegram, making it appealing for those who always want a way to get a message back. One thing's for sure — iMessage and RCS aren't reliable ways of clawing back messages after they've been sent.