Quick Tip – How to show timestamps in iOS 8 Messages app

This post shows you how to see when you received each message in the iOS 7 Messages app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.

Quick Tip - How to show timestamps in iOS 8 Messages appI don’t know about you, but of all the apps on my iPhone I probably use the Messages app the most. Text messaging has become so engrained in our society that it’s something that we don’t even really think about anymore. The Messages app in iOS has always been good about telling you when a conversation happened or, specifically with iMessages, telling you when a message you sent was received or read. But what if you want to know exactly when you received each and every message in a conversation? Fortunately, Apple has hidden a neat feature in the iOS 7 Messages app that allows you to do just that.

To show timestamps in the Messages app in iOS 7, simply swipe directly on the conversation thread from right to left. You will notice the message bubbles slide over and the timestamps appear on the right-hand side of the screen.

Quick Tip - How to show timestamps in iOS 8 Messages app

It’s really neat that Apple was able to make the interface of the Messages app in iOS 7 appear much cleaner than it did in iOS 6 while still adding even more great functionality like this trick. Once I figured out how to reveal the timestamps in a conversation, I found myself doing it all the time. I expect you will do the same! It’s very helpful to know when you received a message and it can provide helpful context as you read back through a conversation.