iOS 16 adds new functionality to Messages, making it easier to be productive. You can mark a conversation as unread as a reminder to return to it later. You can also view all unread conversations in a unified list.

Plus, when you delete a conversation, it goes to a trash (“Recently Deleted”) from which you can restore it within a month, just like in Photos.

Mark Messages as Unread

In iOS 16, you can now mark conversations in Messages as unread. Finally, you can make it easy to remember which ones you want to return to later.

To do so, when viewing the main list of conversations in Messages, either long-press a conversation and choose Mark as Unread or swipe the conversation from left to right, just like in Mail.

To mark unread multiple conversations at once, tap , choose Select Messages, select the conversations you want to act on, and tap Unread at the bottom.

See All Unread Conversations

In prior versions, the Filters list only offered All Messages, Known Senders, and Unknown Senders. Now, there are two more filter categories, one of which is Unread Messages.

Never before was there an easy way to see all unread messages in a unified list. On the Mac, you can right-click Messages on the Dock to see unread conversations, but this method is inconvenient. Now, you can choose this filter and see them in a list.

Restore Deleted Messages

With the advent of Messages synced across devices via iCloud, unfortunately, deleting a conversation on one device may also delete it on other devices. As such, doing so inadvertently may be disastrous.

Now in iOS 16, however, deleted conversations go to a “trash,” named Recently Deleted in Filters — just like the album of the same name in Photos. Visit this filter to find such messages, which will hang around for about a month.

The filter is already in select mode and you can choose messages to delete or recover. Or, without selecting anything, you can delete or recover all of them.

Bonus Tip: When multi-selecting in Messages, you can touch and swipe across multiple checkboxes in series rather than having to tap each one separately. (This selection shortcut works in Mail and Photos, too.)

After you upgrade to iOS 16 or iPadOS 16, what new capabilities do you discover as you explore your apps and settings? Feel free to share them with me for inclusion in a future edition of Mac Mondays.