Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and remembered that you need to text someone in the morning? It happens to everyone. While most modern apps allow for delayed messaging, iMessage still doesn’t have that feature.
Fortunately, there is still a way to schedule iMessages. Here’s what you need to know.
How to schedule iMessages
The regular Messages app on the iPhone does not have the option to schedule an iMessage (as of this writing). You can achieve this in several ways depending on how much you like third-party apps and the time of day you send the message.
Schedule iMessages via reminders
The easiest way to schedule a message is to do it manually using notes. Your basic Reminders app for iPhone may be the solution. You can use this basic scheme:
- Create a new reminder by pressing the “+” at the bottom left.
- Fill out the title with the person’s name or phone number so you can find them.
- In the “Notes” box, type your message.
- Select “Details” to set up the reminder.
- Activate “Date” and select the day on which you should send a message.
- Activate “Time” and select the time at which you want to send a message.
- Tap “Add” at the top right.
- Confirm your notification settings if prompted.
With a reminder set, you will receive a notification at the time and date. Then you can:
- Open reminders.
- Select the “i” icon to the right of the reminder.
- Copy the text from the “Notes” p to iMessage (double-tap the text to “Select All” and then “Copy”).
- Open Messages and find the person you are sending the message to.
- Paste the message text you copied (press and hold the box and select “Paste”).
- Send the iMessage.
A big disadvantage of this method is that you will still have to send the message manually. This means you should be next to your phone when the notification bell rings.
Schedule iMessages through automation
Another built-in feature you can use to schedule a message is Automation in Reminders. It allows you to send a message automatically, but you must set it for each message and cancel it later. However, this is the easiest way to schedule messages that are sent when you need them without additional manual work.
Here we explain how you can configure an automatic message:
- Open Shortcuts and press the Automation tab at the bottom.
- Select “Create Personal Automation.”
- Tap “Time of Day.”
- Select a specific time of day and choose the time below the check mark. You can also choose Sunrise or Sunset, but that may be less useful.
- Under “Repeat,” select “Weekly” and choose the day of the week (that day should glow blue, so deselect all the others). If you need to send a message a little further in advance, select “Monthly” and choose the day of the month.
- Tap “Next” at the top right.
- Under “Actions,” select “Send message.”
- Complete the “Message” and “Recipients” fields.
- Select “Next.”
- Uncheck “Ask before running” and confirm it in the pop-up menu.
- Toggle “Notify when executed.”
- Review the Automation task and select “Done.”
With the task set, your phone will send the iMessage at the requested time. However, depending on your settings, it will also repeat the message every day of the week or month you choose.
To avoid this, you will need to delete the automation task. Once you receive notification that your message was sent (hence the “Notify when executed” option above), here’s what you do:
- Open Shortcuts and Automation.
- Select the task you want to cancel.
- Uncheck “Enable this automation.”
- Alternatively, you can delete the automation task by sliding it from right to left in the Automation menu.
With the automated task disabled (but not deleted), you can edit that automation task the next time you need to schedule a message. Edit the task fields (“When” and “Do”) and enable or disable the task as needed to receive more messages.
Schedule iMessages through a third-party app
If you want to schedule a message without the hassle of going back and forth through automation options, there are a few apps you can download from the App Store.
Please note that due to Apple’s limitations, apps cannot send messages on your behalf, so most of them only allow you to create a reminder or task. You will still have to confirm sending the message.
Programmed
Scheduled is one of the most popular iOS apps for planning and scheduling, and works for messages, notes, reminders, calendar events, and more.
The basic app is free, but it comes with a significant list of restrictions, such as being able to schedule only a few messages each month. However, if you just need to send a scheduled message once in a while and want to play with a few more features, it’s a great option.
While the app has a relatively low rating in the store, its range of features is hard to come by and recent updates have resolved most of the issues described in the reviews.
Scheduled is the only option with a Premium plan that sends messages on your behalf.
Moxy Messenger
Moxy is an amazing free option considering the limitations it has. It allows you to create unlimited messages and schedule them when they need to be sent.
However, since it cannot send messages automatically, it will send you a notification that you must confirm. This means that it is impossible to schedule a message for when you are not available (for example, in the middle of the night, when you are asleep).
Operator Messaging
This is an iPad compatible version of a message scheduler. Like other free options, it reminds you to send a message at the right time to complete the action. The free version imposes a relatively generous message limit per month.
Going Premium also allows for voice controls, but still limits you to needing to send the actual message via push notification.
Frequent questions
Can you cancel sending a scheduled message?
If you sent a message through Automation, you’re still using your original messaging app. You can locate the message and edit or delete it (in iOS 16 or later).
If you are using a third-party app, check their FAQs and Terms to learn what processes they use. If they use the native Messenger, the process is the same as with Automation.
Can you schedule a text message in iMessage?
Unfortunately not. You must use the Automation app to schedule a message to be sent automatically. Most third-party apps cannot send messages automatically, even if they allow scheduling.
Ship on the go with automation
Automation is the best way to set up iMessage schedules and send messages to your contacts no matter the time of day. However, don’t forget to deactivate the task afterwards, or you risk sending them unwanted messages (unless that’s your goal).
Did you find an easier way to schedule and automatically send an iMessage? Let us know in the comments below.
