How to Use Drafts on Stitch

The problem drafts solve

You start typing a reply, get pulled away, and come back to the chat list later — without drafts, that half-written message is simply gone, and you either rewrite it from memory or give up on it. Stitch automatically keeps whatever you have typed but not sent in a chat, so switching away and coming back does not cost you the message.

How it works

As soon as you type something in a chat's message box without sending it, Stitch remembers it. If you leave that chat — switch to another conversation, back out to the chat list, or close the app — the text you typed stays exactly where you left it the next time you open that same chat.

In the chat list itself, a chat with an unsent draft shows a "Draft:" preview instead of the last message, so you can see at a glance which conversations have something waiting to be finished and sent.

Drafts are per-device

A draft is saved locally on the device you typed it on, not synced to your account the way sent messages are. If you start typing a reply on your phone and then open Stitch on the web, the draft will not appear there — it is specific to wherever you actually typed it. This is a deliberate trade-off: it keeps drafts simple and fast, at the cost of not following you across devices the way a finished, sent message does.

When a draft disappears

• Sending the message clears the draft, since it is no longer unsent.
• Manually clearing the text box clears the draft for that chat.
• Drafts do not expire on their own — an unfinished message can sit there for as long as you leave it.

Practical ways to use drafts

Drafts work well for messages you want to think over before sending — start typing, get interrupted or reconsider your wording, and come back to it later with the text still there rather than starting over. They are also useful simply as a byproduct of how people actually use a chat app: switching between several conversations throughout the day, with a half-finished reply in more than one at a time.

If you want a more deliberate space to draft something longer before deciding where it goes, Note to Self works well alongside drafts — write it there first, then copy it into the actual conversation once you are happy with it.

Drafts versus editing a message you already sent

It is worth being clear about what a draft is not: it only applies to text you have not sent yet. Once a message is sent, it is no longer a draft — if you want to fix something you already sent, that is message editing, a separate feature with its own rules about how long after sending a message can still be changed. Drafts exist purely in the window before you tap send, and they disappear the moment you do.

Why drafts show up in the chat list preview

Showing "Draft:" in the chat list instead of the last real message is a deliberate trade-off — it means you temporarily lose sight of what the other person's last message actually said, in exchange for a clear signal that you have unfinished business in that chat. For most people this is the right trade, since an unsent reply is usually more actionable than a message you have already read. If you specifically need to see the last received message instead, opening the chat shows you both the draft in the text box and the full message history above it.

When a lost draft is actually a sign to use Note to Self instead

If you regularly find yourself writing something substantial in a chat's draft — a long explanation, a list, something you are still actively editing over more than one sitting — that is usually a sign the content deserves a more permanent home than a draft. A draft is tied to one specific chat and one specific device, with no backup if you switch phones or reinstall the app; Note to Self, being a real conversation like any other, is backed up and synced the same way your sent messages are. For anything you would be upset to lose, write it in Note to Self first and copy it over when it is ready.