How to write messages on Apple Watch

You can compose, edit, and unsend messages, send stickers, GIFs, and other rich content, and share your location.

To start a conversation, you can choose a recent contact, speak the name of a contact or dictate a phone number, or choose from your full list of contacts. You can even send stickers, GIF images, audio clips, Digital Touch effects, and more in a conversation.

Here’s how to write messages on Apple Watch.

Start a conversation on Apple Watch

1. Open the Messages app on your Apple Watch.
2. Tap the New Message button at the top of the screen.
3. Tap Add Contact and then do one of the following:
   • Choose a recent contact: Tap a contact from the list of recent conversations.
   • Speak the name of a contact or dictate a phone number: Tap the Microphone button.
   • Choose from your full list of contacts: Tap the Add Contact button.
   • Enter a phone number: Tap the Keypad button.
4. Tap Create Message. Dictate, type, or scribble your message.
5. Tap Done and tap Send.

Send stickers, GIF images, audio clips, Digital Touch effects, and more

1. Open the Messages app on your Apple Watch.
2. In a message conversation, tap the Apps button. Choose an option.

Send your location

Along with sending a pin to your current location, you can share your location as it updates automatically, for one hour, until the end of the day, or indefinitely.

1. Open the Messages app on your Apple Watch.
2. In a message conversation, tap the Apps button and tap Location.
3. Tap Share, then choose an option.

For the steps, read our guide, Set up Find My on Apple Watch.

Edit a sent message

Within 15 minutes of sending a message, you can edit it up to five times.

1. Open the Messages app on your Apple Watch.
2. Select a conversation with the message you want to edit.
3. Touch and hold the message bubble, then tap Edit.
4. Make any changes. Then tap Done to resend with edits.

   Note: The message is marked as Edited in the conversation transcript.

The message bubble is updated to reflect your edits on your recipient’s device, and both of you can tap Edited to see previous versions of your message.

If you’re messaging someone on a device with watchOS 9, iOS 15.7, iPadOS 15.7, macOS 12.6, or earlier, they receive follow-up messages instead, each with your new message in quotation marks and the preface “Edited to”. And if a message was sent with SMS, it can’t be edited.

Unsend a message

You have up to 2 minutes after sending a message to undo it.

1. Open the Messages app on your Apple Watch.
2. Touch and hold the message bubble and tap Undo Send.

   A note confirming that you unsent the message appears in both conversation transcripts: yours and your recipient’s.

Unsending a message removes it from your recipient’s device.

If the person you’re messaging is on a device with macOS 12.6, iOS 15.7, iPadOS 15.7, watchOS 9, or earlier, the original message stays in the conversation. When you unsend one, a notification tells you the recipient may still see the original in the message transcript.

See also

• Read and respond to messages on Apple Watch
• Translate messages on Apple Watch