{"id":34889,"date":"2022-02-02T16:16:14","date_gmt":"2022-02-02T21:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=34889"},"modified":"2022-02-04T16:19:00","modified_gmt":"2022-02-04T21:19:00","slug":"the-case-for-mark-as-unread-in-messages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2022\/02\/02\/the-case-for-mark-as-unread-in-messages\/","title":{"rendered":"The Case for “Mark as Unread” in Messages"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matthew Bischoff<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

But the most popular messaging app on iOS<\/a>, Messages, has never implemented “Mark as Unread” even though users have been clamoring for it for years<\/a> and it’s been rumored that they tested it<\/a>. What’s even wilder is that iMessage doesn’t have any other in-app way for the user to signal that they need to return to a message in order to respond to it. The only gesture toward anything like this is an obscure Siri integration<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Messages routinely get forgotten and go unanswered. The missing “Mark Unread” button has no doubt caused countless accidental ghostings, avoidable arguments, and missed opportunities. And its lack has likely made life more difficult for users with conditions that affect memory or follow-through, like ADHD and depression, who may not be able to respond in the moment and have no easy way to record their intention to do so.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

John Gruber<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

I love Messages. I know there are a bunch of ways Apple could and should improve it, but I can’t think any single feature that I want more than “Mark as Unread”.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

I want it to (as it used to) sync the read states across all my devices so that I don’t have to “read” the same message multiple times.<\/p>\n\n

David Zarzycki<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

Pro tip \/ workaround: always screen iMessages via the notification center. This lets you read the messages without changing the read\/unread status. Also relentlessly exit the Messages app before locking your phone to avoid accidentally setting the read bit at unlock.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Update (2022-02-04): Mike Rockwell<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

I’d also like to see a visual indicator showing where the new messages begin when you jump into a thread with multiple unread items.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

John Gordon<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

To be reminded of a message one must ask siri<\/a> “remind me of this message”. There’s no nonSiri option.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Matthew Bischoff: But the most popular messaging app on iOS, Messages, has never implemented “Mark as Unread” even though users have been clamoring for it for years and it’s been rumored that they tested it. What’s even wilder is that iMessage doesn’t have any other in-app way for the user to signal that they need […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2022-02-02T21:16:17Z","apple_news_api_id":"a341cfe8-2e75-4be2-964e-1b030e63ad93","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2022-02-04T21:19:04Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/Ao0HP6C51S-KWThsDDmOtkw","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[31,2078,30,2077,141],"class_list":["post-34889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology","tag-ios","tag-ios-15","tag-mac","tag-macos-12","tag-messages"],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34889"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34924,"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34889\/revisions\/34924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}