> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.techbetweenthelines.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # How to Create Polls in Messages on iPhone (And Actually Get Everyone to Vote) - URL: https://www.techbetweenthelines.com/how-to-create-polls-in-messages-and-actually-get-everyone-to-vote/ - Published: 2026-10-14T18:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-14T18:00:00.000Z - Description: Messages has had real polls since iOS 26, and they still sit behind the same button as photos and stickers in iOS 27. Here is how to use them, and the details that get everyone to actually vote. - Author: Justin Scharlemann - Tags: Hidden in Plain Sight, Tips & Tricks, Apple *Part of* [*Hidden in Plain Sight*](https://www.techbetweenthelines.com/tag/hidden-in-plain-sight/)*, our series on Apple features that already shipped and already work, sitting one tap away in apps you already use.* How many messages does it take a group chat to pick a restaurant? In most families the honest answer is somewhere north of thirty, plus two people who never answer and one who replies "whatever works" after the reservation is already made. Messages has had a cleaner way to settle this since iOS 26 shipped last fall, and it is still there in iOS 27: a real poll, built into the thread, with live results. It sits behind the same button you use for photos and stickers, which is exactly why so many people tried it once and forgot it was there. ## What polls in Messages actually do A poll asks one question with up to 12 options, right inside an iMessage conversation. Everyone in the thread can vote, results update as votes come in, and the leading option is easy to spot at a glance. You can vote for one option, several, or none, which makes polls useful for scheduling ("which nights work for you?") as well as straight decisions ("tacos or pizza?"). Tap an option a second time and your vote comes off. The part most people miss is that a poll is not locked to the person who created it. Anyone in the conversation can add a new option, no matter who started the poll, and new options start at zero votes. That small detail turns a poll from a ballot into a shared list, which is often what a group decision actually needs. ## How to create a poll 1. Open **Messages** and go to the conversation where the decision is stuck. 2. Tap the **plus (Apps) button** to the left of the message field. 3. Tap **Polls**. 4. Type your question. 5. Fill in the first two choices. A new blank choice appears as you go, up to 12 in total. 6. Tap **Send**. On a Mac running macOS Tahoe 26 or macOS 27, it works the same way: click the Apps button to the left of the message field, then click Polls. ## Four ways to get more out of it **Let the group fill in the options.** If you genuinely do not know every possibility, start the poll with two obvious choices and say so in the question. Anyone can add the place or date you forgot, and it shows up as a new option everyone can vote on. **Check who has not voted yet.** Open **Poll Details** on the poll (press and hold it on iPhone, or Control click it on a Mac) to see how each person voted and who has not weighed in. It will not nudge them for you, but it ends the guessing about who is holding things up. **Watch for the suggestion.** On iPhones that support Apple Intelligence, Messages can spot when a conversation is circling a group decision and offer a Create a Poll button. If you tend to forget the feature exists mid conversation, this is the reminder. **Use multi select for scheduling.** Because people can pick more than one option, a list of dates works like a lightweight scheduling tool. The date with the most votes is the one most people can make, without anyone typing out their calendar. ## What to know before you send one Polls only work over iMessage. In a green bubble conversation with someone on SMS or RCS, the option is not there, and iOS 27's RCS improvements added inline replies and full Tapbacks, not polls. Mixed groups are where this feature quietly falls apart, so check who is in the thread before you rely on it to make the call. Everyone also needs iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26 or visionOS 26 or later. Anyone on older software gets a plain message saying you sent a poll, but they cannot see the options or vote until they update. For most families that is the one holdout with an old iPad, and it is worth knowing before you wonder why Grandma never voted. In an all Apple group chat, a poll is simply a faster way to close a decision than a long string of replies. It has been sitting one button away for a year. The next time a thread starts spiraling, try it before the thirtieth message. **More from Hidden in Plain Sight:** how to get better results from [Playlist Playground in Apple Music](https://www.techbetweenthelines.com/how-to-use-playlist-playground-in-apple-music-and-write-prompts-that-dont-come-back-generic/). Hidden in Plain Sight Members vote in one tap. The winner gets the next guide in the series. Which hidden feature should we explain next? [Screening spam texts in Messages](https://polls.spectralwebservices.com/v/7f57a13a-685e-4cce-8aa5-4b7836a390b3/p%5F0c3b6850/o%5Fb19544b3?m=%%{uuid}%%&ref=techbetweenthelines.com) [AirPods as a camera remote](https://polls.spectralwebservices.com/v/7f57a13a-685e-4cce-8aa5-4b7836a390b3/p%5F0c3b6850/o%5F70fdad43?m=%%{uuid}%%&ref=techbetweenthelines.com) [Adaptive Power for longer battery](https://polls.spectralwebservices.com/v/7f57a13a-685e-4cce-8aa5-4b7836a390b3/p%5F0c3b6850/o%5Fe744dbd9?m=%%{uuid}%%&ref=techbetweenthelines.com) [Surprise me](https://polls.spectralwebservices.com/v/7f57a13a-685e-4cce-8aa5-4b7836a390b3/p%5F0c3b6850/o%5F48d069dd?m=%%{uuid}%%&ref=techbetweenthelines.com) Read us first See more TBTL when you search Google Add Tech Between the Lines as a preferred source and our Apple coverage shows up more often in your Top Stories. It takes one tap, and you can change it anytime. [Prefer TBTL on Google](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=techbetweenthelines.com&ref=techbetweenthelines.com)