TIL how to mark iPhone texts as unread

1. Launch Messages.
2. Tap and hold on the message you want to mark as unread.
3. When the resulting menu appears, tap on the Mark as Unread command.

This technique also facilitates a related action, which allows you to read a message without ever having to open it, or alert the sender that you’ve seen it.

1. Launch Messages.
2. Choose a message you want to mark as unread.
3. Swipe right part of the way and tap the Mark as Unread icon.

This may be the fastest and most efficient way to mark an individual message as unread.

1. Launch Messages.
2. Tap the Edit button at the top left corner of the screen.
3. Choose Select Messages from the menu.
4. Tap to select any messages you want to mark unread.
5. Tap Unread at the bottom of the screen.

Now that you’ve chosen which messages are marked Unread, you can also view those messages exclusively by enabling the iOS message filtering option.

1. Go to Settings > Messages.
2. Under Message Filtering, find Filter Unknown Senders and toggle it on.
3. Switch back to the Messages app where the Edit button is now the Filter button.
4. Tap Filter > Unread Messages to view that list.

You can use Siri to read your unread messages. Just say “Hey Siri, read my unread messages.” Siri will tell you which unread messages are available, recite each message, and ask if you want to replay, after which you can dictate and send your answer via Siri.

In iOS 13 and later, there’s an option to switch off the Send Read Receipts feature, which alerts the sender that you’ve seen their message.

1. Launch the Settings app.
2. Swipe down and tap on Messages.
3. Switch off the Send Read Receipts toggle.

If you have iCloud enabled for the Messages app, any message or conversation you mark as unread on one device will appear the same way on all of your connected devices.