How to Make more of Messages

1 Send a group message

In Messages, tap the Compose icon to start a new message. Tap the + in the To: field and add a recipient. Start typing and choose their name when it appears. Repeat to add another recipient. Type your message and press Send. 2 Name a group message

You can only name iMessage group conversations. In the list of messages, tap the conversation. Tap ‘i’ then ‘Enter a Group Name’. Type in the name and tap Done. You should see the group name in the list.

CONTINUED… Make more of Messages

3 Start audio or video call

With a conversation open, tap ‘i’. If audio or video calls are available, you’ll see a camera and/or phone button. Press the camera to start a FaceTime video call or the phone to make an audio call. 4 Images and attachments

Tap on the conversation whose images and attachments you want to review. Tap ‘i’. Scroll down, tap Images or Attachments, then tap an item to view it and swipe left or right to see others. You can share the item from here. 5 Filter messages

To filter messages from people not in your Contacts list, go to Setting > Messages and turn on Filter Unknown Senders. Messages will create a separate list for these messages and you won’t get notifications for them. 6 Report spam messages

When you get an iMessage from a sender who’s not in your contacts list, Messages puts a note under it to tell you. Tap Report Junk to forward the sender’s details to Apple and delete the message from your iPhone. 7 Audio messages

In a conversation, tap and hold the Mic icon. Record your message. Let go, then tap play to listen back, ‘X’ to cancel, or Send. Audio messages are deleted after two minutes (this can be changed in Settings > Messages). 8 Hide alerts

In the Messages list, swipe left on the conversation you want to hide alerts for. Tap Hide Alerts to switch off alerts and banners for the conversation. If you have app badge notifications turned on, they’ll still be updated.