iMessage

Since the 2000s, most people have been able to communicate with their family or friends not only by voice calling, but also by sending them a Short Message Service (SMS) message, commonly known as a text message. SMS has become the cheaper alternative to voice calls for staying in touch.

In 2011, Apple introduced a service called iMessage that allows you to send messages over the Internet using Apple's private protocol. So, you can send messages between iOS devices and Macs using your current data plan or Wi-Fi anywhere in the world as long as you are connected to the Internet.

Sometimes people compare iMessage with Blackberry Messenger (BBM), but these apps actually have different approaches. iMessage treats all messages and forms of conversation like SMS, while BBM uses an ordinary instant messaging scheme—like that of Yahoo! Messenger—with a profile picture and status.

Setting up iMessage on your iOS device

Before using iMessage on iOS device, you need to activate it. iOS will automatically...