How to schedule a text on a Mac: iMessage Send Later, WhatsApp and Telegram

Yes, for iMessage. On macOS 15 Sequoia or later, open a conversation in Messages, click the Apps button to the left of the message field, choose Send Later, pick a date and time up to 14 days ahead, then type your message and press Return. Telegram’s Mac apps can schedule messages too, but WhatsApp can’t schedule a message on a Mac as of October 2026 (it’s only testing the feature with some Android beta users).

This guide covers the steps for each app, whether your Mac needs to stay on, how to edit or cancel a scheduled message, what to do for green-bubble contacts and WhatsApp, and the workarounds that hold up. Everything was checked against Apple’s, Telegram’s and WhatsApp’s own pages on 20 October 2026.

Which Mac messaging apps can schedule a message? (checked 20 October 2026)

Messages and Telegram can; WhatsApp can’t. The details:

App on your Mac	Can it schedule?	How	How far ahead	Good to know
Messages, iMessage (blue bubbles)	Yes, on macOS 15 or later	Apps button, then Send Later	Up to 14 days	Sent from Apple’s servers, so your Mac can be off
Messages, SMS or RCS (green bubbles)	No documented way	n/a	n/a	Apple’s Send Later requires iMessage
Telegram Desktop (and Telegram Lite)	Yes	Right-click Send, then Schedule Message	Telegram doesn’t say	Also Send When Online; reminders in Saved Messages
Telegram for macOS	Yes	Option-click Send	Telegram doesn’t say	Also Send When Online
WhatsApp for Mac and WhatsApp Web	No	n/a	n/a	Calls can be scheduled; scheduled messages are only in an Android beta test
WhatsApp Business app	Business Broadcasts only	In the Business app	Not stated	Marketing messages from a business, for eligible users in select countries

How to schedule an iMessage on a Mac with Send Later

Send Later is built into Messages on macOS 15 Sequoia and later. These are Apple’s steps from its Send Later guide for Mac:

1. Open Messages on your Mac.
2. Select the conversation (or start a new one).
3. Click the Apps button to the left of the message field, near the bottom of the window, then click Send Later.
4. Choose the date and time you want the message to go. You can pick any time up to 14 days ahead.
5. Type your message, then press Return.

The message appears with a dashed outline, and the send time shows above it. That’s how you can tell a scheduled message from a sent one.

Two requirements from Apple’s note: you must be online to schedule or change a scheduled message, and you must be using iMessage on macOS 15, iOS 18 or later. Apple also says the recipient won’t know the message was scheduled.

How to change, send now or cancel a scheduled message

You can change a scheduled message right up to its send time. If you can’t find it, scroll to the bottom of the conversation: Apple notes that scheduled messages may appear below sent messages.

• Change the time: click Edit above the scheduled message, choose Edit Time, pick a new time, then click away from the scheduler.
• Send it now: click Edit above the message, then choose Send Message.
• Change the wording: Control-click the message, choose Edit, make your changes, then click the Send Edit button (or Cancel Edit to keep the original).
• Cancel it: click Edit above the message, then choose Delete Message. A message deleted before its send time is never delivered.

Does your Mac need to be on for the message to send?

No. Apple’s Mac guide says a scheduled message “is stored on a server until it’s time to send it”. Its iPhone guide adds that the message is “delivered even if all your devices are offline”, and that scheduled messages are encrypted and kept on Apple’s servers only until they’re sent. So you can schedule a birthday text on Friday night, close the lid and go away for the weekend.

Why don’t I see Send Later?

Work through these in order:

1. Check your macOS version. Choose Apple menu > About This Mac. Send Later needs macOS 15 Sequoia or later.
2. Check that iMessage is on. In Messages, choose Messages > Settings, click iMessage and make sure you’re signed in with your Apple Account.
3. Check the bubble color. If your earlier messages in that conversation are green, you’re texting by SMS or RCS through your iPhone, and Send Later isn’t offered for those (see the next section).
4. Check your connection. Apple says you need to be online to schedule a message.

If your Mac can’t run macOS 15, an iPhone with iOS 18 or later has the same feature: tap the Add button (+) next to the message field, then Send Later. A message scheduled there is sent from Apple’s servers too.

Can you schedule a text to an Android phone from a Mac?

Not with Send Later. Apple’s requirement is that you’re using iMessage, which only works between Apple devices, and its guides don’t describe scheduling a green-bubble SMS or RCS text. Your Mac sends those through your iPhone with Text Message Forwarding, which our guide to texting from a Mac explains step by step.

For an Android contact, the reliable workaround is a reminder that carries the text (see “Workarounds” below), so that sending takes one paste.

How to schedule a message in Telegram on a Mac

Both of Telegram’s Mac apps schedule messages, and the option sits on the Send button. If you’re not sure which app you have, our guide to Telegram on Mac explains Telegram for macOS, Telegram Desktop and Telegram Lite.

In Telegram Desktop (and Telegram Lite, its Mac App Store edition):

1. Open the chat and type your message.
2. Right-click the Send button and choose Schedule Message. That’s how the Telegram Desktop changelog describes it (version 1.8.3, September 2019).
3. Pick the date and time and confirm.

In Telegram for macOS: type your message, then Option-click the Send button to open the scheduler. The app’s own list of mouse shortcuts, in its published source code, names this “Schedule a message”.

Useful extras, according to Telegram’s announcements:

• Send When Online. Instead of a time, you can have a message go out when the other person next comes online. It only works if you’re allowed to see their online status (Telegram, December 2019).
• Reminders to yourself. Scheduling a message in your Saved Messages chat turns it into a reminder, and you get a notification whenever a scheduled message or reminder is sent (Telegram, September 2019).
• Editing. Telegram Desktop has let you edit scheduled messages since version 2.2 (July 2020), according to its changelog.

Telegram’s help pages don’t state how far ahead you can schedule.

Can you schedule a WhatsApp message on a Mac?

No. As of 20 October 2026, the WhatsApp Mac app and WhatsApp Web have no scheduled or “send later” messages, and neither do the regular phone apps. WhatsApp has started testing it: WABetaInfo reported on 12 October 2026 that scheduled messages (up to two weeks ahead, in group chats too) were rolling out to some testers of the Android beta. There’s no date yet for everyone, or for the Mac. The scheduling WhatsApp offers today is for other things:

• Calls. Since August 2025 you can schedule a call from the + button in the Calls tab and choose Schedule call (WhatsApp blog).
• Events in groups. You can create an event in a group chat so people can respond to it.
• Business Broadcasts. The WhatsApp Business app lets businesses send broadcast messages and “schedule for the best time”, but only for eligible users in select countries (WhatsApp Business). It’s a marketing tool, not a way to time a message to a friend.

Be careful with apps and browser extensions that promise scheduled WhatsApp messages. To send for you, they have to connect to your account, and WhatsApp’s help center says that “linking your account to an unofficial app or website, now or in the past, may result in a temporary or permanent account ban” (WhatsApp). For a timed WhatsApp message, use a reminder instead. More on the Mac app itself in our guide to WhatsApp on Mac.

Workarounds that work for any app

When Send Later doesn’t apply (WhatsApp, green-bubble texts, anything more than 14 days out), these hold up:

1. A reminder with the message inside. In the Reminders app, create a reminder for the time you want to send, and paste the full text into its notes. When it goes off, copy, open the chat, paste and send. It takes ten seconds and works for every app.
2. A two-step schedule for dates beyond 14 days. Set a reminder for 14 days before, then schedule the iMessage with Send Later when it goes off.
3. A repeating reminder for repeating messages. Send Later schedules a single message. For something that recurs, such as a weekly “bins go out tonight” to a housemate, a repeating reminder is the honest option.
4. Your own Saved Messages in Telegram. If you live in Telegram, a scheduled message to yourself works as a reminder that lands where you’ll see it.

When scheduling is worth it

Scheduling is most useful when the right moment for the other person isn’t a good moment for you:

• Late-night thoughts. Write it now, schedule it for 9 am. Our texting etiquette guide has more on timing.
• Time zones. Schedule a message to land in someone’s morning rather than at 3 am their time.
• Birthdays and anniversaries. Schedule the message a few days early, up to 14 days ahead, so it arrives first thing on the day.
• Work. Write replies in the evening and schedule them for the start of the next working day, so colleagues don’t feel they have to answer at night.

If you juggle several messaging apps

If your chats are split between Messages, WhatsApp and Telegram, the overview of the best messaging apps for Mac covers each network’s own app, and our guide to combining WhatsApp, iMessage, Telegram and Instagram in one Mac app compares the all-in-one routes.

One of those routes is Tera Chat for Mac, our app: a free Mac app that brings iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and Tinder into one inbox and drafts replies in your own texting style. Tera Chat isn’t made by or affiliated with WhatsApp, so weigh WhatsApp’s warning above about unofficial apps before you connect your WhatsApp account to it. It needs a Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or newer) running macOS 15 or later.

The short version

For iMessage, use Send Later in Messages on macOS 15 or later: Apps button, Send Later, pick a time up to 14 days out, and the message goes from Apple’s servers even if your Mac is off. For Telegram, right-click Send (Telegram Desktop) or Option-click it (Telegram for macOS). For WhatsApp on a Mac and for green-bubble texts there’s no scheduling, so set a reminder with the text ready to paste.