In the Messages app, you can send a text message to invite people to collaborate on a project, and everyone in the conversation is added to the document, spreadsheet, or other shared file.

You can also start from another app, like Notes or Freeform, and then discuss your content in Messages. Files can come from Reminders, Safari, Keynote, Numbers, Pages, and more, but you first need to save the content somewhere others can access it, such as iCloud Drive.

Note: Collaborating on a project with Messages requires you and your recipients to use iMessage on iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS 13, watchOS 9, or visionOS 1 or later. First, save the content somewhere others can access it, such as iCloud Drive. And with iPad apps, you may need to turn on iCloud before using their collaboration features.

Invite people to collaborate

Invite people to collaborate on a project from another app, then talk about your content in Messages. You can share files from apps like Notes, Freeform, Reminders, Safari, Keynote, Numbers, Pages, and more. First, though, turn on their collaboration features in iCloud settings, and store the content somewhere others can get to it, such as iCloud Drive.

The process for inviting someone to collaborate depends on the app. Here’s one way you might start a collaboration in a supported app:

1. Select the file you want to share and tap the Share button, or tap Collaborate.
2. Make sure Share a Link (rather than Send a Copy) is selected. Tap the group or individual you want to collaborate with. If you don’t see the group or person listed, tap the Messages app icon.

   The suggested icons may correspond with groups or individuals with active FaceTime calls or recent Messages conversations.

3. A Messages conversation opens with the invitation ready to send. Add a note (optional) and then tap the Send button.

After you invite participants in Messages, you can work on the project in the other app and return to the Messages conversation by tapping the collaboration button in that app.

When someone edits the file, you see updates at the top of the Messages thread. To return to the shared project and see changes, tap an update.

Note: Participants may have to accept your invitation or join the shared item first. Until then, they can’t interact with it or see any updates.

Quick tip: With Files and Messages open in Split Screen, a collaboration starts when you drop a file into the new message window and pick Collaborate in the pop-up menu before sending.

Collaborate on a project in Messages

After you share your project, you see activity updates at the top of the Messages conversation whenever someone makes an edit.

1. Start the Messages app on your iPad.
2. Go to the conversation that contains the invitation to the project you’ve started collaborating on and then do any of the following to return to the project:
   • Tap the file in your conversation to open it.
   • If you see an update at the top of the conversation, tap Show.
   • Tap the icon of the participant or group at the top of the screen, scroll to Collaboration, then tap the shared project.

When you make any changes or edits to the project, your participants get updates in the conversation.

Note: New people you add to a group conversation don’t automatically get access to the projects you’re collaborating on, so grant it yourself. If someone joined the group conversation recently, tap the notification at the top of the screen to add them, and you can also invite them to collaborate.

Manage the collaboration and group

If you share a project with two or more people in a Messages conversation, you can add or remove participants.

1. Start the Messages app on your iPad.
2. Go to the conversation you want to manage. Tap the group icon at the top of the conversation to open details about the group’s conversation.
3. Do any of the following:
   • Add new participants: Tap Add Access, then add contacts. (You may need to scroll down to see Add.)

     If you started collaborating with just one other person, you must start a new conversation to add people to the collaboration.

     Note: You must add new participants to any files that were shared in the conversation before they joined. As you add participants, a notification appears at the top of the conversation. Tap Show in the notification to review the previously shared files you can add new participants to.

   • Remove a participant from the conversation: Touch and hold their icon. Then tap Remove from Group.

     Important: The apps where the collaboration happens usually control access to the project. Check participant access in the app itself to remove viewing or editing privileges completely.

The people in the Messages collaboration may not be the same group that’s collaborating on the file. You might invite people to collaborate on the file outside of Messages, for example, or have two different groups in Messages, each with a collaboration conversation of its own.

Adding someone to a document you shared with others earlier gives you a choice: add them to an existing conversation, or keep the conversations separate. Anyone added to a conversation can’t read messages sent before they joined it.

Stop collaborating on a project in Messages

Access to the project is usually controlled by the apps where the collaboration happens. Collaborating on a document in the Pages app, for example, means the Pages settings take precedence over the Messages settings. Still, you can unsend or delete the invitation from the conversation, just like any other message.

Important: When you delete an invitation from a thread, that conversation is no longer associated with the collaboration, but it doesn’t remove participants from the file. Check participant access in the app to remove viewing or editing privileges completely.

See also

• Share content in Messages on iPad
• Have a group conversation in Messages on iPad

You can share images, links, and other content using the Messages app. When someone shares content with you, you can find it in a Shared with You section in apps like Photos, Music, and News.

You can share a recent photo or video right from a conversation, or share a message attachment with someone else. You can also copy, save, or print your attachment, and find all the content someone shared with you.

Share content with others

1. Open the Messages app on your iPad.
2. In a conversation, do one of the following:
   • Copy and paste an image or a link into your message.
   • Tap the Add button, tap Photos to browse recent photos and videos, then tap to add.
   • Tap a message attachment, tap the Share button, then tap a contact or the Messages app icon.

     Tip: When you tap the Share button, you can also copy, save, or print your attachment.

3. Add a message (optional), then tap the Send button.

From another app (like Podcasts, News, or Music), select the content you want to share, tap the More button, tap Share, then choose Messages.

Find all the content someone shared with you

1. Open the Messages app on your iPad.
2. Open the conversation whose content you want to see.
3. Tap the contact or group icon at the top of the conversation.
4. Swipe left, then tap Photos, Links, Documents, Locations, or Wallet.

   If a category doesn’t appear, you didn’t receive anything of that type in this conversation.

Note: If the person who sent the content isn’t in your contacts, it won’t appear in Shared with You.

You can find a Shared with You section in Photos, Safari, Music, Podcasts, and other supported apps. If you don’t want items someone sends to you to appear in those other apps, tap the contact or group icon at the top of the conversation, tap Info, then turn off Shared with You.

Review and save photos or videos

Multiple photos or videos you receive at the same time are automatically grouped, with two to three items forming a collage and four or more forming a stack.

1. Open the Messages app on your iPad.
2. Do one of the following:
   • Look inside a stack: Tap to open. Then swipe through a stack to view, reply, or interact with each photo or video individually.
   • Save a photo or video: Tap the Save Photo button next to the photo or stack.

Pin shared content

If someone shares content that’s especially interesting, you can quickly pin it in Messages. This elevates it in the Shared with You section of supported apps, in Messages search, and in the conversation details (the info you see when you tap the contact or group icon at the top of the conversation).

1. Open the Messages app on your iPad.
2. Open the conversation with the content you want to pin.
3. Touch and hold the message bubble containing the attachment. Tap Pin.

Note: Photos can be saved to your library, but not pinned.

Hide shared content

You can adjust your settings to hide an app’s Shared with You section.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Apps, then tap Messages.
3. Tap Shared with You. Turn off Automatic Sharing, or turn off Shared with You for a specific app.

Note: You can have your (or a family member’s) iPad receive warnings about sensitive content and warn you before it’s sent or received.

See also

• Take and edit photos or videos in Messages on iPad
• Share screens using Messages on iPad
• Collaborate on projects with Messages on iPad
• Delete messages and attachments in Messages on iPad

You can capture photos and videos directly in the Messages app. You can also modify the photos and videos before you send them by editing the image, marking it up, or adding effects.

You can take a photo, take a video, or add an existing photo or video, then crop it, add filters, and more. Markup lets you add stickers, labels, and shapes to your photo. Smaller-sized previews of images can go out first, too, so your recipients get them right away.

Note: Attachments can have size limits set by your carrier, and when necessary, iPad may compress photo and video attachments.

Send a photo or video

1. Start the Messages app on your iPad.
2. In a conversation, tap the Add button.
3. Do one of the following:
   • Take a photo: Tap Camera, then tap the Take Picture button to take a picture.

     To change the camera mode, tap Photo, then tap an option.

     To crop the photo, add filters, and more, tap Edit, then use the editing tools.

   • Take a video: Tap Camera, tap Video, tap the Record Video button to begin recording, and then tap the Stop Recording Video button to stop.

     To trim or crop the video, add filters, and more, tap Edit, then use the editing tools.

   • Add an existing photo or video: Tap Photos and swipe up to search, browse through all photos, or change albums. Then tap the images you want to send.

     To crop, add filters, or make other adjustments, tap the image in the message bubble, tap Edit, then use the editing tools.

4. To add stickers, labels, and shapes to your photo, tap Markup, then use Markup. When you’re done, tap Save.
5. Tap Done to add the photo or video to the message bubble, add a comment. Tap the Send button to send your message.

Another option is to send a photo or video with a Digital Touch effect, or you can record a video message in the FaceTime app.

Note: You can have your (or a family member’s) iPad receive warnings about sensitive content and warn you before it’s sent or received.

With Apple Intelligence*, you can create original images using Image Playground, or create custom emoji—called Genmoji—in Messages.

Send photos faster

Smaller-sized previews of images can go out first, so your recipients get them right away, ahead of the full-resolution images.

1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Apps, then tap Messages.
3. Turn on Send Low Quality Photo Previews.

With Low Data Mode on, only the preview gets sent. See our guide, Manage roaming and network options.

To remove a photo or video from the message bubble before sending it, tap the Cancel button.

Note: Attachments you send over iMessage (such as photos or videos) may be uploaded to Apple and encrypted so that no one but the sender and receiver can access them. To improve performance, your iPad may automatically upload attachments to Apple while you’re composing a message. If you decide not to send your message, the attachments are deleted from the server after several days.

*Apple Intelligence is available with Siri and device language set to Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, or Vietnamese. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. Some devices may not be available in all regions. Siri AI is available in beta in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 and requires an Apple Intelligence–enabled device set to a supported language. Available in English to start. Siri AI will not be initially available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Certain Apple Intelligence features that rely on server-side models are subject to daily usage limits, including but not limited to Siri AI, Intelligent Photo Editing Tools, Image Playground, and AFM 3 Cloud models in Shortcuts. Daily limits may vary by feature, request complexity, system demand, system policies, and other factors. Expanded access to such features will be available for a fee in the future. Use of these features is subject to the Apple Intelligence Terms and Conditions.

See also

• Share content in Messages on iPad
• Draw and create images in Messages on iPad
• Add backgrounds in Messages on iPad

You can send text messages, images, and much more. You can reply within a conversation or to specific comments in a thread, and even use Siri to listen and respond to your messages.

To start a new conversation, you send a message to one or more people, and you can choose recipients from your contacts with the Add Contact button. You can also reply inline to a specific message, and find out why some messages appear green.

Siri: Ask Siri something like, “Read my last message from Antonio.” Learn how to use Siri.

You’ll need to set up Messages to fully use all the features in the Messages app.

Start a conversation

A new conversation starts when you send a text message to one or more people.

1. Open the Messages app on your iPad.
2. Tap the Compose button at the top of the screen.
3. Tap the To field. Enter the phone number, contact name, or Apple Account of each recipient.

   To choose recipients from your contacts, tap the Add Contact button.

4. Do any of the following:
   • Tap the text field above the keyboard, then type your message.
   • Tap the Emoji key or the Next Keyboard key to add emoji.
   • Tap the Dictate key to dictate text in the language of your keyboard.
   • Tap the Add button to send photos, videos, stickers, polls, audio messages, your location, and more with iMessage apps.
5. Tap the Send button to send.

   If a message can’t be sent, an alert appears. Tap the Send Failure button to try sending the message again.

To return to the conversation list from a conversation, tap the Back button.

Reply to a message

The conversation list groups messages by conversation, and a dot shows that you haven’t yet read one or more messages in a conversation.

1. Open the Messages app on your iPad.
2. In the conversation list, tap the conversation that you want to participate in.
3. Tap the text field, create your message. Then tap the Send button to send your message.

Quick tip: To see when a message was sent to you, drag its bubble to the left, and timestamps appear for all messages in the conversation.

You can quickly craft a response with Apple Intelligence. Just tap a suggested reply above the keyboard.

Note: Apple Intelligence on iPadOS 27 or later is available on an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPad mini (A17 Pro) and iPad models with M1 or later. Apple Intelligence is not available in all languages or regions. Usage limits may apply.*

Without opening Messages, you can reply to messages on your Lock Screen. Read our guide, Turn on Lock Screen features.

Reply inline to a specific message

Responding to a specific message inline quotes the message you’re responding to. That keeps a busy conversation organized, since it’s clear which response relates to which message.

1. Open the Messages app on your iPad.
2. In the conversation list, tap the conversation that you want to participate in.
3. Do one of the following:
   • Swipe right on the message bubble that you want to reply to.
   • Touch and hold the message bubble that you want to reply to, then tap Reply.
4. Enter your message and then tap the Send button.

   Note: Everyone in a group conversation can see your inline reply. To reply privately, tap the group icon at the top of the conversation, touch and hold the icon of the person you want to message privately, then tap Message.

5. To return to the main conversation, tap the blurred background.

Touch and hold a message to react with a Tapback, such as a thumbs-up or a heart.

Quick tip: You can copy just part of a message. Touch and hold the message and tap Select, then select the text you want to copy and tap Copy.

Why are some bubbles blue and others green?

A blue Send arrow means the message can be sent using iMessage, and it appears in a blue bubble.

When a recipient isn’t using an Apple device, for example, you can’t use iMessage, but SMS, MMS, or RCS will work instead. They show up in green bubbles.

Note: Content may not appear as expected if you send messages to recipients using non-Apple devices.

*Apple Intelligence is available with Siri and device language set to Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, or Vietnamese. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. Some devices may not be available in all regions. Siri AI is available in beta in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 and requires an Apple Intelligence–enabled device set to a supported language. Available in English to start. Siri AI will not be initially available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Certain Apple Intelligence features that rely on server-side models are subject to daily usage limits, including but not limited to Siri AI, Intelligent Photo Editing Tools, Image Playground, and AFM 3 Cloud models in Shortcuts. Daily limits may vary by feature, request complexity, system demand, system policies, and other factors. Expanded access to such features will be available for a fee in the future. Use of these features is subject to the Apple Intelligence Terms and Conditions.

See also

• Unsend and edit messages on iPad
• Have a group conversation in Messages on iPad
• Collaborate on projects with Messages on iPad

You can send a group text message, name it, and assign it an icon to find it more easily. In a group conversation, you can call people’s attention to specific messages and even collaborate on projects.

You can choose group members from your contacts. You can also add someone to an existing group, or leave a group, and messages to a recipient who isn’t using iMessage appear in green bubbles instead of blue ones.

Start a group conversation

You can send a message to multiple people to start a group conversation.

1. Go to the Messages app on your iPad.
2. In the conversation list, tap the Compose button at the top of the screen.
3. Tap the To field. Enter the phone number, contact name, or Apple Account of each recipient.

   To choose group members from your contacts, tap the Add Contact button in the To field.

   Note: If one or more of your recipients isn’t using iMessage, messages appear in green bubbles instead of blue ones.

4. Tap the text field, enter a message or tap the Add button (to the left of the text field) to send a photo, video, poll, or another item with iMessage apps.
5. Tap the Send button.

Add someone to an existing group conversation

If you have at least two other people in a group conversation, you can add additional contacts.

1. Open the Messages app on your iPad.
2. Tap the group conversation you want to add someone to.
3. Tap the group icon at the top of the conversation. Then tap Add.
4. Enter the phone number, contact name, or Apple Account of each recipient.

   To add group members from your contacts, tap the Add Contact button in the To field.

5. Tap the Done button to save your changes.

Note: If someone in the group hasn’t turned on iMessage, start a new group by following the onscreen instructions.

If you only have one other person in the conversation, you need to start a new group conversation to add someone else.

To remove someone from a group conversation in iMessage, touch and hold their icon, then tap Remove from Group.

You can add someone from a group conversation to your contacts, too. See our guide, Create a contact.

Leave a group conversation

You can leave a group chat if there are at least three other participants in the conversation.

1. Open the Messages app on your iPad.
2. Tap the group conversation you want to leave.
3. Tap the group icon at the top of the conversation.
4. Scroll down and tap Leave This Conversation or Delete and Block This Conversation. (Learn more about deleting and blocking conversations.)

   Blocked conversations are moved to the Recently Deleted folder, where you can recover them.

To stay in a group chat but stop receiving its notifications, mute the conversation instead.

Mention people in a group conversation

Mentioning someone by name in a group conversation calls their attention to a specific message and sends them a notification. Depending on their settings, they may get notified even if they’ve muted the conversation.

1. Open the Messages app on your iPad.
2. In a conversation, begin typing a contact’s name in the text field.
3. Tap the contact’s name when it appears.

   You can also mention a contact in Messages by typing @ followed by the contact’s name.

   To change whether you get notifications when your name is mentioned in Messages, go to Settings > Apps > Messages, then turn on or off Notify Me.

Name a group conversation

You can name a group chat and choose an icon* to represent the conversation. Everyone who has turned on iMessage sees the new name and image.

1. Open the Messages app on your iPad.
2. Tap the group icon at the top of the conversation.
3. Tap Edit, tap Edit Name & Photo, and then choose an option.

*Availability varies by region.

See also

• Collaborate on projects with Messages on iPad
• Share content in Messages on iPad