Saving audio messages on my MacBook

Thanks for that tip. And if I was home and listening to the messages, I could do that. But often, I'm at work, or away from my laptop when I listen to the audio message. They will automatically disappear from my iPhone once I listen to them, unless I save them on my iPhone. I can change the settings on my iPhone to save them, but I don't want to save them on my phone. I just want to listen to them again when I get home. So it defeats the purpose to save them on my phone, so when I get home I can listen to them on my laptop. It used to be that they'd disappear from my phone, but they'd stay on my laptop. But once I upgraded to Monterey OS, they now disappear from my laptop too. My laptop 'obeys' the settings I have on my phone.

Yes, that works. But it saves the messages on my phone, which I do not want. I want them to disappear from my phone (so I don't use up memory) but want them saved in Messages app on my laptop. They used to do that: disappear from my phone and save on my laptop. But once I upgraded to Monterey OS that changed. Now, my laptop just does what my iphone does: has the messages disappear in 2 minutes. I changed the settings on my iphone to have the messages never disappear (just like the article you attached suggested I could do) and that makes the messages stay on my laptop as well. But then the messages are in both places, and I just want them on my laptop, not my phone. Everybody who sends me audio messages comments on it: "oh you are saving my messages!". It makes me seem weird. Plus I don't want them to take up space on my phone. But sometimes, I want to listen to the messages again in the privacy of my home. But don't want the sender to know I've saved the message to re-listen to it. I know that's way TMI (ha) but I really really need others to understand what I want/don't want. What's up Apple! Why'd you change that setting?!?

Thank you, P. Phillips. But again, this does not solve the problem I am trying to solve.

The messages do appear on my laptop, but they disappear after 2 minutes, just like they disappear on my iPhone.

I want them to DISAPPEAR on my iPHONE, but I want them SAVED on my LAPTOP.

Does that make sense??

Again.... let's assume I listen to my messages on my phone while I'm work or out and about and before I get to my laptop.

If they aren't saved on my phone before I get home to my laptop, then they will disappear from my laptop as well.

This is the only way I can figure out how to save them on my laptop:

1. If I don't listen to them until I get home and I'm close enough to my laptop to save them (ie drag and drop as suggested above)
2. , Press the 'keep' button on my iphone, and then they'll also be saved on my laptop
3. change the settings in my iphone to delete 'never'

However, saving them on my iphone is not the issue. I know how to save them on my iphone and thus they'll also be saved on my laptop.

But...

I do NOT want them saved on my phone.

I only want them saved on my laptop.

I am not sure how else to describe this issue.

To repeat:

That used to happen before the upgrade.

The messages would save on my laptop but not my iphone.

Now they're linked.

They're either saved in both or deleted from both. ugh.

Does that make sense??

I have reasons why I'd like my audio messages saved on my laptop but not my iphone. Too much to discuss here.

Is there a way to:

Save messages on my laptop, while NOT having them save on my iphone?

It used to be that I could do that.

With the upgrade to Monterey, it appears that my phone and laptop are linked: what happens on one, happens on the other (messages are either saved on both or disappear on both). How do I unlink the functionality of that?

Thank you.

" How do I unlink the functionality of that? " If one unlinks the functionality of Messages between iPhone and Laptop - the messages if from Non Apple Message will not appear on the laptop period. = but it's not a "Non Apple Message". It's an audio message on my Apple iPhone and an audio message on my Apple MacBook Air.

Anyway, sounds like I'm beating a dead horse here, as they say.

It appears, with the Monterey upgrade, Apple decided to change things up, so that my laptop and iphone are linked, period, unlike the way it was before the upgrade. Thanks Apple. Always helpful when things are changed for the worse when upgrading.