iOS 16 has a lot of huge new features, but there’s one that changes the way you use your Messages app that has been pretty well hidden — the option to filter your messages by unread.
There is a tonne of stuff that Apple has bragged about, with a lot of people gettinc acquainted to these features on their shiny new iPhone 14. But there hasn’t beeb a peep about this absolute game changer, which makes rifling through your spam and people you’d rather not talk to a cinch.
Here’s how to turn it on and streamline your Messages experience.
How to filter messages by unread in iOS 16
Head over to settings, scroll down and select Messages.
Scroll down to the bottom and toggle the Filter Unknown Senders switch.
When you head back to the Messages app now, you’ll see a new option called Filters at the top.
Select this and you can filter messages by all messages, known senders, unknown senders, and most importantly, Unread Messages.
Outlook
As you can see by the number of messages on my phone, any way to filter my messages is warmly welcomed. Sure, a lot of that comes down to being quite the introvert, but the options to filter out spam and work through any unread messages is one of the biggest small tweaks of iOS 16.
There are big features, such as the customizable lock screen, and other little tweaks that are massively helpful like the option to have a battery percentage. However, it is this that I’ve found the most use for.
It’s just really weird that this is both an optional feature and one that has been tucked away in the settings, but now you know it’s there. Enjoy!
