X (formerly Twitter) now lets you edit DMs on iOS—here’s what you need to know

Kelechi Edeh -

Imagine sending a DM and instantly realizing you’ve made a typo or left out an important detail.

In the past, you had no choice but to send a follow-up message or live with the mistake. Well, good news—X (formerly Twitter) has rolled out a new feature that allows you to edit your DMs.

Initially available for Android and the web, this much-requested feature is now available to iOS users.

How to edit a DM on X on your iOS device

Editing a DM on X is pretty straightforward:

  1. Update your X iOS app.
  2. Open a direct message chat.
  3. Long-press the message you want to edit or tap the three-dot menu beside it.
  4. Select the Edit message option, make your changes, and hit save.

On iOS, even if the recipient has already seen the original message, they will only see the edited version with an "Edited" label beside it. The original message will no longer be visible, ensuring clarity and transparency in conversations.

Senders phone(left) and Recipient phone (right)

There’s also no time limit for when you can edit a message, so whether it’s a recent DM or something you sent ages ago, you’re free to make changes. 

But you can only edit a message five times, so use your edits wisely. Also, keep in mind that images and encrypted DMs cannot be edited yet, although X says its engineers are working on it.

For security reasons, X keeps a log of all edited messages, but at the moment, there’s no visible version history for users to track changes within edited DMs—unlike how the platform handles edited posts.

Thoughts?

I think this feature is long overdue. Other messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, and iMessage have let users edit messages for a while now, so it’s about time X caught up.

It just makes sense to have more control over what we send, especially when those quick DMs don’t always come out the way we intended.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sent a message and immediately wished I could change a word or clarify something. Whether it’s fixing a typo or tweaking the tone, having the ability to edit feels like a real game-changer.

Image credit: Kelechi Edeh/techloy.com