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· iMessage

What iMessage is, and how to turn it on

iMessage is Apple's own messaging between Apple devices: blue bubbles, end-to-end encrypted. How to tell it from SMS, how to switch it on, and what to check when it won't activate.

iMessage is the messaging built into the Messages app on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Stiger works inside it, so it has to be on before Stiger does anything. This page is the short version: what it is, how to tell whether you are using it, and how to switch it on. The steps are Apple’s, and the sources are linked at the bottom.

What it is

Apple’s own wording: with iMessage, messages go to another iPhone or another Apple device over Wi-Fi or cellular data. Texts, high-resolution photos and videos, documents and links all travel that way. Your conversations are end-to-end encrypted, so they can’t be read while they’re sent between devices, and Apple marks that with a lock icon at the top of the conversation.

Messages in the same app can also go out as RCS or SMS/MMS, which is how you reach people who don’t have an Apple device. The difference you can see is the bubble:

See you at 8?

iPhone ↔ iPhone

iMessage: goes over the internet, end-to-end encrypted.

See you at 8?

iPhone → Android

SMS, MMS or RCS: goes over the carrier. Not iMessage.

Which one a conversation uses depends on whether iMessage is switched on for you and whether the person on the other end uses it too.

Turn it on

On an iPhone, Apple’s steps are:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Apps, then tap Messages.
  3. Turn on iMessage.
  4. To choose which phone numbers and email addresses you use with iMessage, tap Send & Receive and pick from the list under “You can receive iMessages to and reply from”.

It can take a moment to activate. If your screen doesn’t match, check the iOS version: Apple’s guide has a version selector, and the menu layout differs between releases.

Activating iMessage with your phone number needs SMS messaging. Depending on your carrier you might be charged for that SMS. If a prompt says your network provider may charge for SMS used to activate iMessage and FaceTime, tap Turn On to allow it. A phone number also needs an active SIM or eSIM behind it.

If it won’t turn on

You might see “Waiting for activation”, “Activation unsuccessful” or “Unable to contact the iMessage server”. Apple’s list, in the order it gives it:

Apple also describes accounts that are blocked from iMessage for reported spam. In that case you can still use SMS, MMS or RCS with iMessage turned off, or iMessage with an email address.

Where Stiger fits

Stiger is an iMessage extension: you find it among the iMessage apps inside a conversation, and the sticker it makes is sent through iMessage. Blue bubbles are the supported case. What SMS, MMS or RCS would do to a Stiger sticker I haven’t measured, so a green-bubble conversation is not something to rely on.

Two things iMessage on its own does not do: it doesn’t hide who you talk to or when, and it doesn’t protect a phone that someone else is holding. The longer read on both is What iMessage actually keeps private.

Sources, read on 2026-10-11:

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