Marking iMessages as Unread

It can be a pain when you read a message and then forget to reply later. Unfortunately, iOS doesn’t have a straightforward option to mark messages as unread. But, there are some neat tricks to help you remember to circle back to those important conversations.

Method 1: Forwarding the message to yourself

If you prefer a visual nudge right in your Messages app, this method works great. It makes the message appear as a new, unread message in your list.

  1. Go to the specific message you want to be reminded about. Long-press on that message until you see the options.
  2. Tap on ‘More…’ from the menu.
  3. Select the forward arrow icon in the bottom-right.
  4. In the ‘To:’ field, type in your own contact and send the message to yourself.

This forwarded message will then pop up as a new, unread conversation, reminding you to deal with the original message.


Method 2: Using Siri to set a reminder

A quick way to make sure you don’t forget is to let Siri remind you. It’s easy and won’t slow down your workflow.

  1. While you’re in the message thread in the Messages app, activate Siri by saying “Hey Siri” or by pressing the Home button.
  2. Tell Siri, “Remind me about this in one hour,” or set a time that works for you.

Siri will then make a reminder linked to that specific message. When the time hits, you’ll get a notification to reply.

These workarounds should help you manage your messages effectively until Apple rolls out a true “mark as unread” feature.