Is there a way to delete multiple or all messages at a time?

Is there a way to delete multiple or all messages at a time?

Unfortunately, at this point, there isn't.

For the time being, you're left with one of two options, each which delete only one message at a time:

1) tap the EDIT button then use the minus+confirm DELETE
2) swipe your finger across the subject/teaser of the message you want to erase and confirm DELETE

Hopefully a multiple delete or delete all feature is coming in a firmware update to the iPhone.

UPDATE: Mail and Messages now both have a multiple delete feature (firmware 3.0 and later). While looking at your Mail inbox or SMS messages from a contact, you'll notice an "Edit" button in the upper right hand corner of the screen. To select multiple messages touch Edit then choose the messages using the circle toggles on the left side of the screen.

Newest iPhone FAQs

VIEW ALL FAQS

At the bottom of the screen, in Messages you can choose "Delete" or "Forward" while in Mail you have the choice to "Delete" or "Move" the selected messages.

UPDATE: The process for deleting multiple texts in Messages has changed in iOS 7. Click here for the updated instructions on how to delete multiple messages.

tags: 
Email and Messaging
Email and Messaging

Comments

Shawn Kregan replied on

I HAVE just changed from a Nokia X6 to an i phone 3g.
On Nokia to solve this problem we click " delete all messages" jeez that was hard aye, its ridiculous to think an i phone has not an option that phones had like 5 years ago!.

I have to say after years of using Nokias and being Nokia loyal ( which i still am) i decided to try out the enemies gadget.
I kept and open mind but i was disappointed i find Apple i phones comparably far more restricted and controlled compared to the much more functional open Nokia Phones.
It seems many small should be simple tasks are turned into headaches on i phones due to Apples control freak policies.
Seriously, can you believe a company thats once flagship phone has not a delete all message button?
Apple always puts its own selfish interests before millions of consumers, examples being, not allowing flash to be displayed ( i cant open my email account coz of this ) , restricting Bluetooth , not allowing open usb transfer mode , making batteries a nightmare to replace, and non standard connection ports.
Im sorry Nokia has been making phones for donkeys years now , and i think they simply know how to make a ""phone""" to function as a phone better.
Love you Nokia!

Ron replied on

There is a way:

http://www.icopybot.com/blog/how-to-bulk-delete-sms-messages-from-iphone-without-jailbreak.htm

Meesam replied on

To delete everything completely, go to General in settings and "Delete all content and settings". That's it :)

Anonymous replied on

deleting all content and settings also deletes your iOS, it actually deletes ALL content!

Anonymous replied on

With some professional iOS data recovery app, it can scan out all of deleted data and you can see what data still remains on the device and be sure that the files you previously deleted are no longer accessible or recoverable even with the latest software.

http://www.safewiper.com/tutorials/how-to-erase-iphone-messages.html

Anonymous replied on

I have always been baffled by this but thankfully cydia has the answer. Deletemail install it respring enable it in settings and enjoy it

IphonePooP replied on

They've done a couple of updates but this issue is still eminent
See I have 5000+ unread messages from my mail and dang they are all spam
Is there a way to delete all of them at once?

http://www.farneville.com/2011/07/how-to-setup-or-configure-sun-cellular-internet-in-iphone-4.html

NB replied on

Yeah you can via a Cydia app called "AllMail".
It also allows you to perform other "mass actions" on your emails.

Youtube video of it in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLvA4gbW_nI

Charlie replied on

So here's how to mark every single email on your iphone as read. In your mail programme simply Select edit, then Select one email, then hold the Mark button and at same time deselect the email Press the Mark As Read button Voila! All emails will be marked as read.... :)

I can hear the celebrations from here...finally a way to do it. Woohoo!

Anonymous replied on

You, sir, are a genius. Cheers!

Liz replied on

This totally does not work. There seems to be no solution to deleting all of my 461 emails at one time. Very disappointed.

Anonymous replied on

This is great for marking them as read, but how do you delete all of them at once? My old Blackberry had a "delete all earlier" button that was great. I would love a quick way to clear all of the e-mails out of my iPhone and iPad once I know I have received them on my iMac.

Poink replied on

Charlie, Thank You!

waqas replied on

In iPhone email list select ‘Edit’ then press & hold ‘Delete’ then select an email (whilst still holding the ‘Delete’ button. This should bring up the ‘Delete all’ button. This should work the same for ‘Mark’ & ‘Move’ function too.

Anonymous replied on

Open Inbox>>EDIT >> check/select the top message, it will highlight the move button >>press and hold the move button and uncheck the message that you had checked earlier >> lift all your fingers off from the ipad screen and leave it alone. wait until all your messages pile up on the right hand portion of the screen (in ipad). iphone will give you the actual number of emails it has selected for the action. now they are just waiting for your command to be moved ALL at once. >> choose trash to delete all of them or any other folder where u want to move them, like one piece. remember this will replicate your action on the server so u will ACTUALLY move them or delete them on the server and not just the ipad.

Ms Ann Thrope-P... replied on

This does not work for text messages. ಠ_ಠ

MLB replied on

This does not work on iPhone 5.
It DOES say that it has x amount of email to move and proceeds to do so but when i return to my inbox the mails are still there.
Super frustrating.

Ruby Bertrand replied on

want to delete all mesages

Anonymous replied on

Awesome!thanks!

Anonymous replied on

Just tried this and it worked a treat!! Good luck,
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505124_162-57450240/how-to-bulk-delete-email-on-the-iphone/

Melinda replied on

I just got an apple iPhone and i do love it except one thing...why can't you delete multiple emails at once?? I get over 100 emails a day and i do NOT have the time to delete each individual mails...Way to go, Apple...you must employed some morons in your workplace!!! A 10 year old can come up with that feature!! Good grief!!!

somhouse replied on

Permanently Delete These SMS Messages
iPhone Data Eraser is the best iPhone data eraser to get your iDevice started with a clean slate before your resell, donate or trade it in. Please download and install it on your computer, and let’s check how it works in steps below.
http://delete-iphone-sms.blogspot.com/

jissonwoo replied on

Once you complete the backup, go back to your iPhone. Tap “Settings” -> “General” -> “Reset”. Select “Erase All Content and Settings” and tap “Erase iPhone” to confirm. You will see an Apple logo and a progress bar during the data removal process. Once completed, all the data on your iPhone are erased, try to erase iPhone data.

But this way doesn't permanently erase iPhone data, to permanently erase iPhone text messages, read this article: How to Permanently Erase iPhone Text Messages.

http://www.z0download.com/useguides/How-to-Permanently-Delete-iPhone-Text-Messages

Lozza replied on

You Can Delete an Entire Conversation (this is a record of sent and received messages to a particular number). There is no 'inbox' as such.
So to delete an entire string of messages from your iPhone5S conversation, tap the Messages app (it’s on your home screen). Tap the Messages menu to go to list of conversations. If you weren’t already in a conversation, you’ll see the list of all conversations.
Choose the number ie the string of conversation messages you want to delete. Press on it lightly till it turns a shade darker and swipe left to right. A red delete option appears, press that to delete that entire conversation. You will need to do this for each numbers string of messages.

Anonymous replied on

Yep, you can bulk delete - but not with the built-in 'Mail' app - despite what some claim. And frankly, it's a pain in the a##! The simplest solution I've found, is to use a different mail app - and the only one I've found which has a 'delete all' option is 'myMail'.

It has plenty of options for mail types - gmail, pop3, imap, etc... and a nice, simple interface. It certainly solved my issues - and I use it for all my email addresses now.

Hope this helps,
Cheers...

Dpug replied on

None if this works for me, I have over 5 years of emails, about 100,000, i want to delete them all at once....... cant find a way... I am not clicking one at a time, would take months, maybe years....

Anonymous replied on

I use iPhone Data Eraser, the deleted sms can't be restored.
http://www.erase-iphone.com/tips/how-to-erase-iphone-text-messages.html

Becky replied on

This worked slick -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKa-KFjUIGE

Pages