Extending iMessage Send Later to their time zone, not just to your own.
My Contributions
UI Design
Prototyping
User research
Type
Personal concept
Duration
1 week
Tools
Expo
Figma
iOS already lets you schedule a message with Send Later, but only in your local time. This concept adds one row to the same menu so you can pick a time in their timezone. No more check the time app, or doing the math in your head.
“I was gonna ask my mom about a payment, but didn't realize it was 1 AM for her.”
The gap
Nobody checks the time inside the app they're texting from.
6 of 7
regularly message someone in another time zone, and every one of them is messaging family.
7 of 7
work out the other person's time outside the app: a search, a clock app, or math in their head.
4 of 7
held off sending a message in the past month because of the time difference.
A quick survey of 7 people, October 2026.
The addition
An addition to Apple's Send Later, except tailored to scheduling based off one's time zone.
01 Notice: John's local time, above the text field.
An Apple native badge shows it's 1:00 AM where he is, right where you're about to type.
02 Choose: One new row, under Send Later.
Send in Their Time sits in the existing apps menu. No pop-ups and no new screens.
03 Pick: Set the time in his clock.
The same picker as Send Later, plus a toggle for whose clock you're using and what that time means for you.
04 Wait: It goes out at 8:00 AM his time.
The pending message shows both times, so you know when it lands for him and for you.
Send Later today
With Send in Their Time
Apple's apps menu today, and the same menu with one new row under Send Later.
Send Later today
With Send in Their Time
Apple's Send Later picker today, and the same picker with a toggle for whose clock you're using and a line for what that time means for you.
Decisions
Small on purpose
No pop-up
Scheduling stays opt-in. A pop-up prompting you to schedule ranked last of four placements in the survey, so the feature waits in the menu you already use for Send Later.
Privacy
A time zone, not a location. Comfort sharing a time zone averaged 4.1 out of 5, and most people wanted to pick who sees it. John shares his time zone with people he chooses, the way Focus status is shared.
Considered
Showing it under the contact's name. People ranked the contact header as the most useful spot. I kept the concept inside surfaces Apple already ships rather than redesign the header, and left that as a next step.
Working prototype · Expo / React Native on iPhone
Other works
