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Does "Auto Delete Old Conversations" on iPhone delete them in iCloud as well?

I honestly have looked EVERYWHERE to get this answer and have been unsuccessful. ALL the answers say this:

"If you have iCloud enabled, when you delete messages on one device, it deletes them on other your other synced devices."


Yes, I get that. But NOWHERE does it say whether or not it deletes these messages -- permanently -- in iCloud. I've done web searches, Apple forums searches, etc., to no avail.


So here's my situation and question:


I'd like to enable "Auto Delete Old Conversations" on my iPhone 8 (iOS 14) to clear out 8GB of old messages over 1 year old. I have iCloud backups enabled for all my devices. I understand that it will delete the conversations (over one year old) on my iPhone as well as sync those deletions with my other devices.


What NO SUPPORT CONVERSATIONS explain is whether it will delete those conversations over one year old on iCloud as well. Will my messages that have been "Auto Delete Old Conversations" older than one year be gone forever, or does iCloud actually store the entire history, but just sync one year's worth of messages across devices?


Please DO NOT reply with a post about syncing across devices. That's not my question. My question is about iCloud and how it stores histories.

iPhone 8, iOS 14

Posted on Sep 23, 2020 11:10 AM

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Question marked as Best answer

Yes, they will be deleted, including in iCloud, and in the back up as soon as the next one runs. If you wish to retain them, copy the pertinent content into another medium.


PS: text messages are a risky long term storage solution to begin with. Its intended for short lived communication.

Posted on Sep 23, 2020 2:11 PM

1 reply
Question marked as Helpful

Sep 23, 2020 2:31 PM in response to SeattleDrizzle

SeattleDrizzle wrote:

Please DO NOT reply with a post about syncing across devices. That's not my question. My question is about iCloud and how it stores histories.

But that is the pertinent point here that you don’t want to hear. When you sync actions across devices that use iCloud, that means if you remove content on any single device, you remove that content everywhere including iCloud. In addition, when you sync messages with iCloud they are not included in an iCloud or an iTunes backup. I can’t speak for what iMazing backups up, but it would be hard for me to believe that it can backup something that is no longer on the phone.

9 replies

Sep 23, 2020 2:26 PM in response to zinacef

Because local backups, whether through iTunes (old Mac) or through iMazing maintain separate, dated backups and don't delete. So if I'm using iCloud to maintain backups of my Messages (because it's called "backups") then I would assume that it would maintain older versions when syncing similar to rsync or any number of modern backup programs and software.


So, as answered later, iCloud is just for syncing of Messages, and not for true backups of historical information. It's simply for syncing across devices (at least for Messages and Photos) except for several apps that use it just for backup, not syncing.

Question marked as Helpful

Sep 23, 2020 2:31 PM in response to SeattleDrizzle

SeattleDrizzle wrote:

Please DO NOT reply with a post about syncing across devices. That's not my question. My question is about iCloud and how it stores histories.

But that is the pertinent point here that you don’t want to hear. When you sync actions across devices that use iCloud, that means if you remove content on any single device, you remove that content everywhere including iCloud. In addition, when you sync messages with iCloud they are not included in an iCloud or an iTunes backup. I can’t speak for what iMazing backups up, but it would be hard for me to believe that it can backup something that is no longer on the phone.

Sep 23, 2020 2:58 PM in response to Demo

It's not that I don't want to hear it. It's that Apple's forums don't say exactly what you said explicitly -- and even you are making a general assumption about the "concept" of how it works. It may seem common sense, but what I need are the technical details. But I'm going to take your word for it, because it's the best answer I've received yet!


Nobody explains EXACTLY what iCloud does, and neither does any web site or tech site. I have found no technical data or information on the processes and procedures it uses. This stuff has legal ramifications that most users don't care about. Almost everything on Apple's pages and forums and web site pages only talk about the marketing aspects of the "convenience" of syncing across all your devices. That's great. Yay.


It's not that it backs up something no longer on the phone. What I was trying to find out is if iCloud is a subtractive/destructive process (it is - apparently) rather than an additive/cumulative process (it isn't) -- like how Time Machine or rsync creates date-stamped, cumulative backups that are non-destructive.


I've now learned that iCloud is a destructive, syncing process. And from a legal standpoint (i.e., lawyers, clients, discovery, lawsuits, etc.), if I need to maintain complete, years-long histories of my messages, I should never, ever, under any circumstances (unless I want to be held in contempt of court for obstruction of justice), turn on "Auto Delete Old Conversations." I just need to keep buying into the Apple Universe and continually upgrade my iCloud storage and upgrade to iPhones with more memory. (Or figure out some other storage/offload/nondestructive backup solution.)

Sep 23, 2020 3:18 PM in response to zinacef

Right. Regardless, whether you use iCloud Backup or Messages in iCloud, it's a destructive process. iCloud Backup only maintains the current backup of whatever; it doesn't act like Time Machine. In fact, it doesn't act like any software backup programs or utilities anywhere, and if they would just explain it that way, I'd be more happy. But they keep using the terms "copy" and "backup" throughout their literature and forums.


"Hey, iPhone/Apple Device user... nothing you do on iCloud is for backup purposes (even though we keep using that word a lot!) but is just a convenient method for syncing across your devices. You know, we should have called it iSync -- oh, yeah, we tried that about 20 years ago." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISync)


Read this from a novice's perspective:


"Messages in iCloud are updated automatically, so you always have the same view everywhere you use iMessage. When you delete a message, photo, or conversation on one device, it’s removed from all of your devices. And since all of your attachments are stored in iCloud, you can save space on your device." -- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208532


If they would just add this little tiny addition:


"When you delete a message, photo, or conversation on one device, it's removed from all of your devices AND FROM ICLOUD."


Why, Apple? Why can't you just be more specific? (zinacef -- I appreciate your help; I really do! Thanks!)

Sep 23, 2020 4:34 PM in response to SeattleDrizzle

"Messages in iCloud are updated automatically, so you always have the same view everywhere you use iMessage. When you delete a message, photo, or conversation on one device, it’s removed from all of your devices. And since all of your attachments are stored in iCloud, you can save space on your device." -- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208532

iCloud is a device.



Does "Auto Delete Old Conversations" on iPhone delete them in iCloud as well?

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