Apply Messages on your Mac

Utilize the Messages app to ship unlimited messages to any Mac, iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch using iMessage, Apple'south secure-messaging service. If you have an iPhone, you can besides fix text bulletin forwarding to ship SMS and MMS letters.

Send a message

  1. Open Letters. You might exist asked to sign in with your Apple ID. Tin can't sign in?
  2. Click the New Message button at the top of the Letters window.
  3. Type the name, electronic mail address, or telephone number of one or more recipients. Or click the Add together button and choose from your contacts.
  4. Press Tab or click the message field at the bottom of the window, then blazon your message.
    • To include emoji, click the Emoji Picker push button.
    • To include an image or other file, elevate or paste it into the message field.
    • To include an audio recording, click the Tape Sound button and tape your message.
    • To include other items, such as Memoji stickers, GIFs, and bulletin furnishings such as balloons or confetti, click the Apps button. This feature is available in macOS Big Sur or later.
    • To help bring your message to the attention of a recipient, include @ earlier their proper noun, like @John. Or click their proper name after you type it. Their proper name is so highlighted in the message, and they will receive a notification letting them know that they take been mentioned. This feature is bachelor in macOS Big Sur or later.
  5. Printing Return to send the message.

Messages window after clicking the apps button

Add together a Tapback or inline reply

A Tapback is a quick response that expresses what y'all think about a bulletin, such as that you like it or think it's funny. Your Tapback is visible to everyone in the conversation who is using iMessage.

  • Control-click a bulletin bubble to open a shortcut carte du jour, then choose a Tapback from the carte du jour.
  • Or click a message bubble and press Command-T.

Messages window showing Tapback options

In macOS Big Sur or later on, you lot can create an inline reply to make it clear which specific bulletin you lot're replying to in a conversation.

  • Control-click the message to open a shortcut card, then choose Reply.
  • Or click a bulletin chimera to select it, then press Control-R.

Find photos and other attachments from conversations

To run across all of the photos, links, and other attachments that were exchanged in a conversation, select the conversation in the sidebar, then click the Details button in the upper-correct corner of the window, or press Command-I.

In macOS Monterey, you lot can as well see these items in the Shared with You section of the corresponding app. For instance, photos and videos you receive automatically appear in the Shared with You department of the Photos app, and links to websites appear in the Shared with Yous section of the Start Page in Safari.

Pin important conversations

In macOS Big Sur or later, you lot can pin a conversation to the top of the conversation list in the sidebar and then that yous can quickly get to it.

  • Control-click the conversation to open a shortcut menu, then choose Pivot.
  • Or drag the conversation to the top of the sidebar.

Pin attachments

In macOS Monterey, yous can pin links and other content that you receive, such equally podcasts and TV shows. Command-click the item, then cull Pin from the shortcut carte. The particular is then elevated in the Shared with Yous section of the corresponding app, in Messages search, and in the Details view of the conversation.

Mute conversations

If you don't want to exist disturbed past notifications related to a conversation:

  1. Select the chat in the sidebar.
  2. Click the Details button in the upper-right corner of the window.
  3. Select Hide Alerts.

If a recipient is using Focus to silence notifications, their status appears automatically in Messages, and so others know non to interrupt. To set upward Focus for yourself, choose Apple menu  > Arrangement Preferences, click Notifications & Focus, then click the Focus tab. This feature is available in macOS Monterey.

Message window showing the Focus status message below the chat bubble

Starting time a FaceTime call from Letters

Share your screen or location

Select the conversation in the sidebar, so click the Details push  in the upper-right corner of the window.

  • Click the screen sharing push button to share your screen.
  • Click Share My Location to share your location temporarily or indefinitely. Or click Transport My Current Location to send your current location at this moment. You lot can too encounter the recipient's location—if they're sharing their location with y'all.

Customize your info or the group

Settings for changing your ain name and photograph are available past choosing Messages > Preferences from the menu bar. You can click your photograph to edit it, and choose whether to share your proper name and photo with others.

To customize the group, select the group conversation in the sidebar, then click the Details button in the upper-right corner of the window. You can then take these deportment:

  • Click Change Grouping Name and Photo.
  • Control-click a name, then choose Remove from Conversation. This is bachelor for groups of four or more members.
  • Click Leave this Conversation to remove yourself from the grouping conversation.
  • Click Add Member to add a new person to the chat.

Messages window showing what you see when clicking the Info button

Ready text message forwarding

Use Siri to send messages

You can utilise Siri to send, read, and answer to Messages. Examples:

  • "Send a message to Susan and Johnny proverb I'll be late" or "Tell Johnny Appleseed the show is about to start" or "Text a message to 408 555 1212."
  • "Read the final message from Brian Park" or "Read my new messages."
  • "Respond that'southward swell news" or "Tell him I'll be there in x minutes."

Delete a message or conversation

When you delete a message or conversation, it's permanent: You can't go it back.

  • To delete a message, Control-click the message chimera, and then choose Delete from the shortcut menu. Or select the message and cull Edit > Delete from the menu bar.
  • To delete a conversation, Control-click the chat in the sidebar, then choose Delete Conversation from the shortcut card. Click Delete to confirm.

FaceTime is not available in all countries or regions.

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