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There are many websites that incorrectly claim that you can do this by swiping left and holding within the Messages app, but this actually shows the times that the messages were received, not sent.

I'm talking about a situation in which the sender or recipient doesn't have reception, the recipient's phone is off, etc. The Android Messages app shows both sending and receipt time, which I find very handy.

Is there a way to see on an iPhone what time a message that I received was sent?

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  • I'm not sure what you're looking for here. Once a message is sent transit time is determined by telecommunication: there will only be a significant difference between sending and arrival time if (a) the user tries to send the message from someplace without cellular/internet access, or (2) there is a disruption in service somewhere int eh system that can't be circumvented. Otherwise, the difference between 'sent' and 'received' will be a matter of seconds. Is there a reason to know that minor difference? Oct 31, 2020 at 16:38
  • @TedWrigley I'm talking about a situation in which the sender or recipient doesn't have reception, their phone is off, etc. I just received a message that was sent several hours ago, but I'm not sure exactly when. The Android Messages app shows both sending and receipt time, which I find very handy.
    – tparker
    Oct 31, 2020 at 16:46
  • Ah, got it. You should edit that into the question for context; it will help us all out. Oct 31, 2020 at 17:29

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Generally, no.

The only easy source of send times is visual inspection on the sending device.

Forensic analysis of the message database would be needed to get more precision or data that is not displayed by the iOS app.

There will be server logs in some cases (SMS being less secure / more logged than Apple as a carrier using iCloud and your AppleID for delivery) as well, but on the receiving device you will likely need to jailbreak it and dig into the database and log files.

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