How to send a voice message on your iPhone to anyone with an iPhone, iPad, or Mac
- It's possible to send voice messages on your iPhone, if you prefer to speak instead of writing out text messages.
- By default, voice messages sent via iPhone expire two minutes after they've been played, but this can be changed in your Settings.
- There's no limit to how long a voice message can be.
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While texting is the most popular form of communication these days, sometimes you have so much to say that you can't fit it into a quick text message.
Thankfully, when that's the case, your iPhone offers the ability to send voice messages to your contacts, so that they can actually hear what you have to say rather than just reading the words on the screen.
While the feature only works when the person you're sending the voice message to is using another Apple device like an iPhone, iPad, or even a MacBook with iMessage installed, it's a quick and easy way to chat.
Here's what you need to know about how to send a voice message.
Check out the products mentioned in this article:
iPhone 11 (From $699.99 at Best Buy)
iPad (From $329.99 at Best Buy)
MacBook Pro (From $1,299.99 at Best Buy)
How to send a voice message on your iPhone
1. On your iPhone's home screen, tap the Messages app icon to open it.
2. Either begin a new iMessage conversation by tapping the pen and paper icon in the upper right-hand corner of the Messages screen or open an existing iMessage conversation.
3. To the right of the iMessage text box, press and hold the small microphone icon and begin recording your voice message.
4. When finished, release the microphone button. You will then see two icons next to the message; one will be a play button shaped like a right-facing triangle, while the other will be an upward-facing arrow.
5. Press the play button to listen to what you've just recorded, or tap the upward-facing arrow to send your voice message.
It should be noted that, by default, voice messages are deleted two minutes after the recipient listens to them. However, you can choose to keep the message you've sent by tapping the "Keep" option beneath the media file.
You can also change your iPhone's automatic settings to ensure your messages are kept longer on your device.
How to change the expiration length of voice messages on your iPhone
To do this, simply go to the Settings app, tap Messages, scroll down to the "Audio Messages" heading and select "Never" rather than "After 2 Minutes" within the Expire tab.
This makes it so any voice message you send or receive won't expire on your device. Messages you send to others, however, will still expire on their devices, unless they've also changed their settings.
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