How to Mark All Text Messages as Read on an iPhone or iPad

Finding a way to mark all text messages as read on an iPhone or iPad might be handy for many users, especially when dealing with a flood of unread messages. Fortunately, the process is quite straightforward on newer models running iOS 14 and later. However, it’s important to note that this feature is not available by default and requires a few steps to accomplish.

Understanding the Default Behavior

Unlike some other messaging apps that allow users to mark all messages as read with a simple tap or click, standard iPhones and iPads do not have this feature natively. The “Delivered” and “Read” statuses are marked automatically by the recipient's device operating system when they turn on the corresponding preferences. This means that you can only see these statuses on the recipient's device.

Marking All Text Conversations as Read on iPhone iOS 14

If you are using an iPhone with iOS 14 or later, here’s how you can mark all your text conversations as read:

Open the Messages app on your iPhone. On the main screen, which lists all of your text conversations, tap the “More three dots menu” button in the top right corner. Tap Select Messages. Tap Read All in the bottom left corner.

If you want to mark only specific messages as read, follow these steps:

Open the Messages app on your iPhone. Tap the “More three dots menu” button in the top right corner. Tap Select Messages. Select the messages you want to mark as read.

Alternative for TextFree Users

For users of TextFree, here’s how to mark all messages as read:

Go to the TextFree app. Tap on the Settings icon. Tap on Mark All Messages as Read. Tap OK.

If you made an error and accidentally marked all messages as read, you can simply tap Cancel to undo your action and return to your Settings.

Why Mark All Messages as Read?

Warranting such a feature might make sense in certain scenarios, but it’s rare for users to have more than a few unread messages that they haven't responded to without a search party being dispatched. If you find yourself frequently dealing with a large number of unread messages, it might be worth checking if there is a specific app or service that is causing the backlog. Regularly clearing your inbox and responding to messages promptly can help keep your messages organized and reduce clutter.

In the standard, un-jailbroken iPhones, this feature is not natively available. You would need to go through each message individually to mark them as read if you were using earlier versions of the iOS system.