Pinned chats appear as big contact circles at the top of the main messages list. A maximum of nine pinned threads are allowed. In Messages, you may conduct one-on-one and group discussions, and threads can include both SMS texts (green bubbles) and iMessages (blue bubbles).
In one-on-one chats, the other person’s contact profile is displayed, but in group threads, everyone’s profile image is displayed in a wider circle (unless a group photo has been chosen).
You may have been prompted to pin chats in your Messages app after updating to iOS 14. If you pin discussions, any unread messages that aren’t part of those conversations will display beneath your pins. In Messages, you may pin conversations in three different ways. Let’s take a look at each one individually.
First Method
- On your iPhone or iPad, open the Messages app.
- Long press the topic you want to pin to the top of your message list.
- Select the option to Pin [name].
Second Method
- On your iPhone or iPad, open the Messages app.
- Swipe right across the discussion you wish to put to the top of your message list.
- To the left of the chat, tap the yellow Pin symbol.
Third Method
- On your iPhone or iPad, open the Messages app.
- Tap Edit in the top-left corner of the screen to edit your message list.
- From the pop-up menu, select Edit Pins.
- On the right side of the discussion you wish to put to the top, tap the yellow pin symbol.
It’s worth noting that pinning a chat to the top of the screen removes it from the messages list below. If a contact doesn’t have an iMessage profile picture, the initial letter of their name will show on a grey backdrop in their contact circle.
The typing ellipsis (three dots) will appear on top of the contact circle if a message is being sent to you in a one-to-one discussion thread, and a preview of the coming message will display in the shape of a chat bubble.
How to Unpin Message Conversations
Simply long touch the huge contact symbol, then tap Unpin [name] in the pop-up menu to remove a discussion off the top of your messages list. Alternatively, go to the top-left of the screen and select Edit, then press the grey minus icon on the chat you wish to unpin.
How to Hide Pinned Conversation Alerts
Simply long click on the contact circle, then select Hide Alerts from the pop-up menu to hide the alerts for a pinned chat.
