Apple’s iMessage app has evolved from a simple messaging app to a more advanced one with add-on apps that you can download from the App Store. It works on all your Apple devices including iPhone, iPad and Mac. As useful as it may seem, there may be times when you want to remove it from your device. Read along as I discuss how to remove iMessage from your iPad, along with some other key ways to at least disable the app.
Can you remove messages or iMessage from iPad?
The quick answer to the question is no. Unfortunately, when Apple started deleting some of its built-in apps, Messages wasn’t among them. But it’s pretty understandable. Calling and texting are the bread and butter of any mobile device. So removing one of these is like rendering the device semi-useless.
Still, that seems fine for the iPhone, but not so much for the iPad. After all, the iPad should be a mini Mac, not a larger iPhone. Still, Apple doesn’t want you to delete the Messages app. Still, there are workarounds if you want to disable iMessage and even remove it from your iPad’s home screen.
You can’t delete iMessage, but you can disable it on your iPad
While you may not be able to delete the Messages app from your iPad, you can do the next best thing. You can remove it from your home screens, making it a lot less accessible.
Time needed: 1 minute.
Disabling iMessage on your iPad is pretty easy. Just follow the three steps below.
Go to settings. Tap Messages. Turn off iMessage.
After that, your iPad will no longer be able to receive messages if it is a Wi-Fi only model. If you have Cell Phone + Wi-Fi iPad, you can still receive regular text messages over your cellular network. You can recognize it as a normal SMS message because it is colored green and not blue.
Here’s how to turn off iMessage without your iPad
If you find you need to turn off iMessage while your iPad isn’t with you, you can still turn it off online. To do this, you must disable the service through the Apple website. To do this, follow the steps below. This process only works for mobile iPad models.
Visit Apple’s self-service page to opt out and disable iMessage. Scroll down to the You don’t have your iPhone anymore window and enter the cell phone number assigned to your iPad. Once you’ve received a code for your number, enter the verification code on Apple’s website. Wait for the confirmation and restart the iMessage app when you get your iPad back in your hands. How to disable iPhone from forwarding messages to your iPad
You should also note that iMessage is associated with the same Apple ID that you use on your other Apple devices like your iPhone or Mac. Therefore, you are probably receiving iMessages on your iPad because you have set the forwarding option on your iPhone.
To stop this, you need to disable it on your iPhone. Otherwise, you may continue to receive messages even if you turn off the service on your iPad. Just follow the steps below.
Go to Settings on your iPhone. Tap Messages > SMS Forwarding.
Deselect your iPad from the list. Bonus tip: remove the iMessage app from the home screen
If you don’t want to see the iMessage app icon every time you use your iPad, you can easily remove it from the home screen. While this doesn’t delete the app from your iPad, you did at least two things to somehow get rid of the app.
Disabling the app from sending messages to your iPad and removing it from the home screen is almost as complete as deleting the app entirely. The difference is that after you remove Messages from the home screen, you can always search for them in the App Library to use them again.
