Messages (Mavericks): What is iMessage?

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What is iMessage?

iMessage is a secure messaging service that you can use to send and receive messages on your Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

You don’t have to wait for your friends to go online—you can send them messages and they’ll either receive the messages on their mobile devices or view them the next time they open Messages on a Mac.

Instead of using buddy names, you can send messages to people using their phone numbers or email addresses. If you entered their contact info in Contacts, you can enter their name and then select which phone number or email address you want to use to send a message.

When someone sends an iMessage to your email address, you receive it on all of your devices (Mac computers and iOS 5.0 or later devices) that are set up to receive messages sent to that email address. When someone sends an iMessage to your phone number, you receive it on all of your devices (Mac computers and iOS 6.0 or later devices) that are set up to receive messages sent to that phone number. When you view an iMessage conversation, you’ll see all messages including those sent from a Mac or from iOS devices, so you can talk to your friends wherever you are.

Use Messages Accounts preferences to configure Messages to send and receive iMessages.

Set up your accounts

You need an Apple ID to use iMessage. If you set up an iTunes or iCloud account, you have an Apple ID. If you don’t have an Apple ID, you can create one in Messages.

Last Modified: Oct 20, 2015
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