Keep track of messages on iPad

You can catch up on text messages you missed, mark messages as unread, and pin and unpin conversations to prioritize messages in the conversation list.

👁 A Messages conversation list with an unread message and another being marked as unread.

Catch up on messages you missed

If you receive messages while you have notifications paused or you’re away from your iPad, you can jump to the first message you haven’t seen in a conversation.

Go to the Messages app 👁 Image
on your iPad.
Open an unread conversation, then tap 👁 the Catch up button
.
Your view of the conversation moves up to the first unread message.

Mark messages as unread

When you don’t have time to respond, you can mark conversations as unread so you can return to them later.

Go to the Messages app 👁 Image
on your iPad.
In the conversation list, do one of the following:
- Swipe right on a conversation to mark it as unread.
- Drag right and tap 👁 the Mark as Unread button
  .

Tip: You can also mark several messages as unread at the same time. In the conversation list, tap Edit, tap Select Messages, select the conversations you want to mark as unread, then tap Unread in the bottom-left corner.

See a list of your unread messages

Go to the Messages app 👁 Image
on your iPad.
In the conversation list, tap 👁 the Filter button
, then tap Unread.
A checkmark appears next to Unread, and the icon turns blue 👁 the Filter button
to indicate that filtering is on.
To see both your read and unread messages again, tap 👁 the Filter button
, then tap to deselect Unread.

Tip: To mark all your unread messages as read, tap Edit, tap Select Messages, then tap Read All.

Pin a conversation

You can pin specific conversations to the top of the conversation list so the people you contact most always come first in the list. Pinned conversations appear as larger icons at the top of your conversation list.

Go to the Messages app 👁 Image
on your iPad.
Touch and hold a conversation, then tap Pin.

Unpin a conversation

You can unpin pinned conversations so that they no longer appear at the top of the conversation list.

Go to the Messages app 👁 Image
on your iPad.
Touch and hold a pinned conversation, then do one of the following:
- Drag the message to the bottom of the list, and let go.
- Tap Unpin.

Pin shared items

You can pin certain shared items—such as links or collaboration invitations—within a conversation.

Go to the Messages app 👁 Image
on your iPad.
Touch and hold a message, then tap Pin.
To find pinned items, tap the contact or group icon at the top of the conversation, then tap a category (such as Links). Pinned items appear at the top.

To unpin a pinned item, touch and hold it in the message, then tap Unpin. If you’re in the Links or Documents tab, touch and hold it, tap Show in Conversation, touch and hold it in the message, then tap Unpin.

See message summaries

Apple Intelligence* can show you a summary of unread messages in a conversation. See Use Apple Intelligence in Messages.

URL: https://support.apple.com/guide/ipad/keep-track-of-messages-ipadaf71fd16/ipados