Messages

TranslucentMessages makes the iOS 10 Messages app translucent with stunning blur effects

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 18, 2019

Your iPhone is a tool of communication, so you might spend a lot of your time lurking in the Messages app. As you know, it's just as dull as almost every other stock app on your device; plain and white. Since you spend so much time in the app, why not give it a makeover that could make you enjoy using it even more?

That's where a new free jailbreak tweak called TranslucentMessages by Ayden Panhuyzen comes in handy, as it takes what is otherwise a boring UI and gives it some fancy translucent visuals.

MessageFilter: blacklist and whitelist words for specific conversations

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 17, 2017

If you have all kinds of contacts on your iPhone or iPad, ranging from friends and family, to significant others, to business partners and bosses, then you have a responsibility to take extra care to ensure your messages never go to the wrong person.

Helping to prevent sending messages that are intended specifically for certain people to the wrong person is a new free jailbreak tweak called MessageFilter by Frozen Penguin. It works by allowing you to set up a special blacklist and whitelist system to manage where certain kinds of messages are allowed to be sent.

AntiSocial enables the ‘Leave this Conversation’ button even in three-way iMessage groups

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 15, 2017

One of the things that really grinds my gears is when I get sucked into group iMessage conversations that I really don’t want to be in. Although rare, sometimes people do it just to wish a bulk of people a good holiday without sending individual messages, but other times people do it just to be annoying.

Unfortunately, Apple makes things even more difficult on you by limiting the ability to leave a group iMessage conversation to when there are four or more people in it, so if you’re being dragged against your will into a three-way iMessage conversation, then you'll find the button to leave will be grayed out.

That’s where a new free jailbreak tweak called AntiSocial by Tony Kraft comes in handy, as it enables the "Leave this Conversation" button even when you’re in a three-way iMessage conversation.

This tweak prevents people who text you like this from blowing up your phone with notifications

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 13, 2017

We all have that one friend that can’t consolidate all of their text messages into one neat message. Instead, they are apt to send multiple messages, one after the other, in order to complete just one sentence.

While the sender may not realize it, this is very annoying for anyone on the receiving end, as their iPhone will just repeatedly ‘ding’ and ‘buzz’ all over the place, and that’s why iOS developer Hrvoje Kostic made a new jailbreak tweak called DoNotAnnoy.

DarkMessages gives your iOS 10 Messages app a dark makeover

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 3, 2017

Dark mode-based jailbreak tweaks appear to be a pretty hot topic of conversation lately, and it would seem that this trend isn’t going anywhere any time soon.

A new free jailbreak tweak called DarkMessages by Sticktron is now available in Cydia that gives the Messages app on jailbroken iOS 10 devices a dark mode-styled makeover.

Littlemoji shrinks the large Emojis in the Messages app on iOS 10

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 8, 2017

Starting with iOS 10, Apple has super-sized all of the Emojis that you send and receive via iMessage whenever they’re used without any complementary text.

Because the Emoji experience on iOS 10 feels a lot more like Facebook Messenger’s sticker system now and not everyone’s on board with it, a new free jailbreak tweak called Littlemoji can be used to return them back to their pre-iOS 10 size.

How to read and write messages in landscape orientation on iOS 10

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 5, 2016

Apple's much improved, expressive Messages app is one of the hallmark new features of iOS 10. We've noticed that some people have been wondering if Apple has removed the message compose in landscape mode from Messages on iOS 10.

In iOS 9 and earlier, turning the device upside down allowed you to read and write messages in widescreen mode. On iOS 10, Messages defaults to showing a dedicated interface for handwritten messages in landscape orientation.

Thankfully, iOS 10 still supports reading and composing messages in landscape orientation with a tap of a special button, let us show you how.

Columba: a biteSMS alternative offering Quick Compose/Reply, scheduled messages, and more

Anthony Bouchard ∙ December 1, 2016

Although biteSMS is no longer supported on the latest versions of iOS, a jailbreak tweak called Columba for iOS 9 brings some of the functionality biteSMS users loved to jailbroken iOS 9 devices.

Columba for iOS 9 comes complete with Quick Compose and Quick Reply, as well as a slew of other must-have features for sending and receiving messages from your jailbroken iPhone.

Apple patent would integrate Siri into Messages to assist with tasks via bot-style commands

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 17, 2016

You've been able to ask Siri to send messages on your behalf for a few years now and with iOS 10, Apple's expanded Siri capabilities to third-party apps like mobile payments. But if a new patent for a “Virtual assistant in a communication session” that the company filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is anything to go by, the virtual assistant could soon be integrated deep into Messages, assisting users with peer-to-peer payments, scheduling dinner and providing other chat bot-style interactions within message threads.

10+ new features in iOS 10.2 beta 1

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 14, 2017

Apple yesterday issued beta 1 of the forthcoming iOS 10.2 software update for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. For starters, iOS 10.2 beta 1 includes three new wallpapers, provides a bunch of new emoji as part of the Unicode 9.0 standard and gives Camera the optional ability to remember filter, Live Photo and mode settings.

Star ratings are back in the Music app and Videos has its own widget. Oh, and you can now annoy friends with a brand new animation in Messages.

Without further ado, here's our video hands-on with iOS 10.2 beta 1 accompanied by a detailed description of all the new features and enhancements.

Tip: replay any bubble or screen effect in Messages conversations with a tap

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 25, 2022

The Messages app for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac has bubble and screen effects that allow users to better express themselves. Initially, a message sent with an effect would animate once after the user opened it. With iOS 10.1 and later, you can easily replay the bubble and screen effects anywhere in conversations with a tap.

How to enjoy Message effects when iOS Reduce Motion is on

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 8, 2025

You can play Messages app effects even if the Reduce Motion feature has been turned on in the Accessibility settings on your iPhone or iPad.