How to Hide Messages on iPhone 2024

With the Internet becoming the driving force for the entire world, it has become more challenging for users to keep their privacy intact. While tech experts are trying their best to provide users with a safe experience, we should also take responsibility for our own privacy. For instance, instead of flashing the text messages on our screen wide open, it would be better to hide them so that no one else can read the personal conversations. In this article, we have put together a detailed guide on how to hide messages on your iPhone and keep your private conversations safe. So, without any further ado, let’s dive in.

Part 1. Can you Hide A Text Message on iPhone

First, let’s understand if it’s at all possible to hide a text message on iPhone. The answer is Yes. Apple does offer a dedicated feature that’ll allow you to hide a text message and send it to another person. This way the message gets covered with a bubble (or another animation) and stays hidden unless the user clears the animation by wiping it off. Though this feature doesn’t support any advanced security, you can still use it to maintain the privacy of your conversations.

  • Step 1: Open the “Messages” app on your iPhone.
  • Step 2: Then, open the thread and type the message that you want to send.
  • Step 3: Press and hold the blue “Send” button for a while. Then, click on “Send With Effect” and choose “Send With Invisible Ink” from the list.

    send messages with invisible ink

As soon as you tap the “Send” icon, the message (with an animation covering it) will be delivered to the other person.

Part 2: How to Hide Text Messages on iPhone without Deleting

Now, you can also change your iPhone’s settings and decide when the phone should display message alerts. This will allow you to control the message alerts and ensure that your device only flashes text messages while you’re using it.

  • Step 1: Open the “Settings” app on your iPhone.
  • Step 2: Click “Notifications” and then, tap on the “Messages” option.
  • Step 3: Under the “Options” tab, use the drop-down menu to select “When Unlocked”.

    change messages preview settings

That’s it; your iPhone will only display message alerts when it’s active and unlocked.

Part 3: How to Hide Messages on iPhone when Locked

It’s also worth noting that you can also hide text messages on your iPhone without deleting them right on the lock screen itself. This is an ideal method for users who want to see message alerts, but don’t want any unauthorized users to read them.

  • Step 1: Again, launch the “Settings” app and click on “Notifications”.
  • Step 2: Then, select “Messages” and look for the “Include” option.
  • Step 3: You’ll see a “Show Preview” option. Toggle the switch off to turn off this feature.

From now on, your iPhone won’t display text messages on the lock screen and no one will be able to read them without your permission.

Part 4: How to Hide Messages from One Person on iPhone

Another aspect on how to hide conversations on iPhone comes if you want to hide messages from a specific sender. This will be an ideal working solution if you only want to hide conversations from a specific person, be it your girlfriend or an office colleague. Follow these steps to hide messages on your iPhone from your girlfriend.

  • Step 1: Open the “Messages” app and click the “Contact” whose messages you want to hide.
  • Step 2: Tap the “Face” icon of the contact and click the “Info” button.
  • Step 3: On the next window, toggle the switch on next to the “Hide Alerts” option.

    hide messages from on person on iphone

This will hide all the text notifications from the particular contact and you won’t see them unless the device is unlocked.

Part 5: How to Hide iMessage Conversation on iPhone

In addition to the regular text messages, you can also hide iMessage conversations on your iPhone. Many users have enabled text forwarding for their iMessage app. This forwards your messages to all the iDevices that are synced to the same iCloud account, which means anyone can read them without any hassle. So, if you want to keep your messages safe, simply turn off iMessage forwarding on your device.

Here’s how to hide iMessage conversations on an iPhone.

  • Step 1: Launch the “Settings” app on your iPhone and click “Messages”.
  • Step 2: Tap on the “Text Message Forwarding” option.
  • Step 3: Then, disable the devices for which you want to disable text forwarding.

    text message forwarding

Go back to the home screen and your messages will no longer be forwarded to other synced iDevices.

Part 6: Apps to Hide Text Messages on iPhone

While Apple doesn’t provide a dedicated solution to hide text messages from the official app, there are a few alternative solutions you can install to get the job done. HiddenConvos is one such app to hide text messages on iPhone that you can install on your device from Cydia and use it. However, this method will only work if your iPhone is jailbroken.

  • Step 1: On your iDevice, launch Cydia and install “Hidden Convos”.
  • Step 2: Then, launch the app and open “Messages” as well.
  • Step 3: Swipe left on the conversation that you want to hide. From now on, a dedicated “Hide” button will appear along with the “Delete” option. Click “Hide” to hide the entire thread from everyone.

This method is nothing short of a panacea for users who want to hide messages on iPhone without deleting them.

Part 7: How to Find Hidden Text Messages on iPhone

Some readers would also want to know how to find hidden text messages on iPhone. The truth is that there is no direct solution to unhide text messages on your device as it’ll mainly depend on the method you’ve used to hide the conversation. For instance, if you have used an app like Hidden Convos to do the job, you’ll have to visit the “Messages” app, click on the “Edit” button, and then, select “Unhide All” to find the hidden conversations.

Bonus Tip: How to Retrieve Deleted Text Messages on iPhone

While trying to hide text messages on the iPhone, many users often end up deleting a few important threads accidentally. While you may think otherwise, this is a common situation for many users. If you are stuck in a similar situation, we recommend using UltFone iOS Data Recovery. It’s an official data recovery solution for iPhone users that are designed to recover a wide variety of deleted files. The tool supports different file formats. This means apart from traditional files such as videos, pictures, and documents, you’ll also be able to recover text messages on your device.

Here’s the step-by-step process to retrieve deleted text messages on your iPhone.

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So, here’s how to retrieve deleted voicemails on iPhone using UltFone iOS Data Recovery.

  • Step 1To begin with, download UltFone iOS Data Recovery on your computer and install it. Once done, launch the software and click “Recover Data from iOS Device”.

    recover deleted messages on iphone

  • Step 2Then, connect your iPhone to the computer via a lightening cable.

    connect iphone and computer

  • Step 3Once the device gets recognized, select the “Messages & Attachment” and tap the “Scan” button at the bottom-right corner.

    scan deleted messages on iphone

  • Step 4Wait for a few minutes and let the scanning process complete. Then, select the messages that you want to recover and click “Recover to PC” to save them on your computer.

    recover deleted messages to computer

Conclusion

So, can you hide messages on iphone? Yes, you got the answers. And that concludes our guide on how to hide text messages on iPhone using different solutions. It doesn’t matter whether you want to hide all your messages from all users or protect selected conversations, the above-mentioned solutions will help you keep all your text messages safe. And, in case you end up deleting any messages during the process, you can use UltFone iOS Data Recovery to get them back.

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