iMessage - deleting & preferences

Question

iMessage - deleting & preferences

My iMessages are taking up the majority of the hard drive space on my computer. I want to free up space on my MacBook Air.

If I change my iMessage preference on my MacBook to delete older messages (more than 30 days), will that impact ONLY my MacBook, or will it also (somehow) delete the older messages from my iCloud (and therefore, iPhone)?

Similarly, if I choose to not enable messages in iCloud on my MacBook, will that only impact the iMessages to/from the MacBook, or will it somehow impact the messages in the Cloud and my phone?

I think it will only affect the iMessages on my MacBook, but I want to confirm before I start deleting.

Thanks!

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jan 9, 2022 8:40 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Jeff_W.

Community Specialist

Jan 10, 2022 10:48 AM in response to shannonshannonshannon

Greetings ,

We understand that you have some questions about using Messages in iCloud, and we'd like to help. As outlined in the related article above your post, when you delete a message, photo, or conversation on one device, it’s removed from all of your devices. If you choose to disable Messages in iCloud on your Mac, it will no longer sync with iCloud with new messages, nor will your other devices be affected if you delete messages from your Mac.

Take care.

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Answer 2

1ssmith

Community Specialist

Jan 13, 2022 6:17 AM in response to shannonshannonshannon

shannonshannonshannon,

That is correct.

Cheers.

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Answer 3

Jan 10, 2022 7:22 PM in response to Jeff_W.

Thanks, Jeff, so to be clear - if I turn off Messages in iCloud on my Mac, I can delete the messages from my Mac and it won't impact my phone (or iCloud). Is that right?

Thanks so much!

Shannon

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Answer 4

Jan 14, 2022 8:18 PM in response to 1ssmith

Thanks, Jeff_W. and 1ssmith!

Really appreciate the clarification and help. :-)

Best

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iMessage - deleting & preferences

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