Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
What's the point of having an "Edit" option if it's going to show the original text?

Apple should give users permission to add that feature into the messages app. Otherwise, it should not show the user has made any changes by default.
I would guess the intention behind this feature is not to allow for sneaky edits, but to allow people to clarify the meaning of a message, after it has been sent.
 
This is a welcome tweak to the “Edit/Undo” options we’re looking forward to. While others might think it is a useless or counterintuitive addition, it disempowers people who might misuse the new iMessage features to bully, abuse, or send (then erase) other unwanted interactions to someone.
 
So people who are abused have a record of the abuse.
Is that really such a thing that this sort of feature would be used for? If you can’t edit it after the recipient has already seen it, then you wouldn’t be able to cover up harassing messages with this, per se. I suppose someone could send you a harassing message and then edit it, but what even would be the point of doing that?

Let’s look at the unsend feature, yeah? You send a harassing message then unsend it, and then you send a regular message. The other party doesn’t know you sent a harassing message because they didn’t see it before you unsent it. Knowing that the other person wouldn’t see the harassing message, what even is the point of sending it to them in the first place? I suppose you could say something to the effect of, “wouldn’t the recipient want to know if someone had sent them a harassing message?” But that’s really no different than typing out a harassing message, not sending it but going select all and delete and sending a normal message, which, short of iMessage reporting every keystroke to Apple like a keylogger, would be impossible to notify the recipient about.
 
Seriously people? The value is obvious. The unedited messages are visible only if the user bothers to click through to view them. Otherwise, this is an easy and straightforward way to fix/clarify accidental typos, errors, and confusions.

This design change means that this useful feature can’t trivially be abused in bad faith to cause confusion, doubt, and harm. If this bothers you, maybe it’s worth examining your ethical foundations? 🙄
Yea no kidding, every other messaging platform has it wrong, Apple reinventing UX once again.. 🤣
 
With those glaring "edited" messages it would probably be less embarrassing to send a new message correcting the first, except on rare occasions where the older message is entirely unacceptable.
 
So people who are abused have a record of the abuse.
Take a screen shot? Are we really going to ruin every useful feature by asking....what is the use case scenario for a spouse abuser or a drug dealer. Or a corrupt politician, or a corrupt govt bureaucrat. This will ruin so many interesting things...like an edit button that now has no purpose.
 
It is not pointless. This prevents the sender from editing the message to say something else once the receiver has replied.
If they already saw it then that makes total sense. The big question is does it wait the two minutes to send the message if you don't edit? Or is it that if they aren't actively in messages and someone edits or unsends, the recipient will never see the original? If it's seen anyway no matter what, I could retype faster than editing
 
They should allow edits up until the person replies, then no more. I also think being able to see edit history defeats the purpose.
Not even replies, views. And will it work like email where if you edit/recall before the recipient sees it, will they never see it?
 
"It is worth noting that Undo Send and Edit are limited to iOS 16 devices, and the original messages are displayed on devices running iOS 15 or earlier." So does this mean you can only unsend/edit a message to iOS 16 users? If so, what's the point until iOS 16 gets widely adopted? Also assume this doesn't work on messages to non iOS users (i.e. "green bubbles")
 
Think of abusive partners/coworkers/parents.
If they send something real nasty/damaging/concerning/explicit/anything else horrible, then edit it a minute later to remove any evidence, that’s not ok.
Now they can’t, and if they want to unsend they’ve got less time to do it
Its ok. Because life isn't a safe space and if you are dealing with that and need a record take a screen shot.
 
It’s quite simple, I present one scenario: Say someone sent threatening or harassing messages (perhaps to a spouse or former partner) and then edited them to say “I like snuggle fabric softener”. It would be a convenient way to skirt restraining orders or intimidate/harass/threaten without the recipient being able to prove it.

While some will use this feature for banal and reasonable reasons there will be a subset who will look for ways to exploit it for personal gain or to harm another.
There’s a pretty big hole in this reasoning. Wouldn’t the “I like snuggle fabric softener” text violate an order of no contact just as much as an abusive or harassing text message? And yeah, such a message could be considered abusive if the reason for sending it is “hey, think of me, I can still exert some influence over your life”, like someone trying to trigger a trauma response in the other person.
 
Yea no kidding, every other messaging platform has it wrong, Apple reinventing UX once again.. 🤣
There are pros and cons to all different methods. On MacRumors for example you can completely edit a message into something else completely different after people have already "liked" it.

Basic texts have no editing or unsending at all so it's still much better than nothing.
 
What would be the downside of that? Are you negotiating legal contracts over text messages?
Replace this example with a different one.
Imagine you just started at a new job.
Your new boss sends you a message:
“Would you like a *insert sexually explicit phrase*”
You reply: “Absolutely not”
But right after you hit send, your boss changes their original message to say:
“Would you like a raise?”
And since the original message is gone, you’ve got nothing to show HR that your boss is a creep.
Now, if they edit the message you can still view and report the creep, and if they unsend, it’s not going to look so good on them.
Someone earlier in this thread asked if people would use these features to do this kind of stuff.
Yes, yes they will, and it’s already a problem on other messaging platforms with “edit” and “unsend” features
 
Replace this example with a different one.
Imagine you just started at a new job.
Your new boss sends you a message:
“Would you like a *insert sexually explicit phrase*”
You reply: “Absolutely not”
But right after you hit send, your boss changes their original message to say:
“Would you like a raise?”
And since the original message is gone, you’ve got nothing to show HR that your boss is a creep.
Now, if they edit the message you can still view and report the creep, and if they unsend, it’s not going to look so good on them.
Someone earlier in this thread asked if people would use these features to do this kind of stuff.
Yes, yes they will, and it’s already a problem on other messaging platforms with “edit” and “unsend” features

Screenshots though. Not saying it's perfect, but it's something.
 
Its ok. Because life isn't a safe space and if you are dealing with that and need a record take a screen shot.
Right, because if you, or someone you know, or (worst case) a child is sent something like that, they’re going to remember/be able to/even think about taking a screenshot that very second while being mortified.
Sometimes, especially in cases of abuse, it’s *really* not as simple as “take a screenshot.”
Also, important to remember that screenshots can be doctored.
Actual evidence of a message going from one phone to another is a lot harder to fake
 
Last edited:
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.