How to use iOS message effects on your iPhone

Merely texting your friends without any effects is so boring in 2021. The time is now to figure out how to breathe some new life into your iMessage conversations.

If you’ve got an iPhone, there are a handful of neat ways to add message effects to your texts in iMessage. The best part? Doing so is super easy. Folks who want to surround their texts with confetti, put them under a spotlight, or conceal them beneath fake invisible ink just need to follow a couple of easy steps.

First, you need to actually type out what you want to say first. You can’t add effects to a message that doesn’t exist. That would be silly. There also needs to be a valid recipient because you can’t send a message to nobody. Once you’ve done that, tap and hold the send button. This will open up the door to iOS message effects without sending the message.

Credit: screenshot: alex perry

Bingo. Now you can add effects to the message you just typed out before you send it. By default, the first set of options you’ll see are to add bubble effects to the message. These will make fun alterations to the appearance of the message bubble itself. They’re pretty minimal compared to the other main type of message effects that we’ll get to later, but sometimes it just makes sense to make your text slam into view or hide its meaning behind invisible ink.

Credit: screenshot: alex perry

Underneath the words “Send with effect” at the top of this screen, tap “Screen” instead of “Bubble” to see the next set of options. As the name suggests, screen effects fill up the screen and are generally more flashy. You can make a bunch of balloons pop up behind a happy birthday message, put a spotlight on an important statement, or use celebratory confetti to congratulate someone. Swipe left and right to go through all the options here before settling on the one you want.

Credit: screenshot: alex perry

Once you’ve added the right kind of pizzazz to your text message, go ahead and hit the send button. Your family member, loved one, landlord, or food delivery person will surely appreciate the new level of personality you’ve just layered onto that text. Be warned, however: Doing this too much could land you in hot water for being annoying.