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Recovering Messages to an Invalid Address

Hey everyone, I have a pretty unique problem. I'll post some context and then throw it in a TLDR.


I used to have screen time enforced on my phone and as someone who loves using Google Docs to write, I was devastated when I saw that it was disabled by screen time. After a failed attempt at getting Docs above the restriction, I decided to use a workaround. Messages was one of the few apps that wasn't disabled by screen time; I created an invalid address (think typing in letters in the address bar). I started typing into the address, in which it said "! Message not delivered," however, the message was still there for me to read. I could store information there.


Fast forward several years and I've formed a nasty habit of exclusively using invalid messages to write. I now have several hundred pages worth of writing in messages, whether they be single words or complex paragraphs. I've known the whole time that I would eventually need to transfer my writing over to docs. Copying and pasting manually took a hyper fixation and nearly a whole day to transfer about a year's worth. I'm now much deeper in, likely triple the ~100 pages I had in the first year or so. Copying and pasting them by hand at this point will take weeks and tons of concentration; I'd rather not do that. So, in a last ditch attempt, is there absolutely any way I could view messages logs or files, unsent messages in a cache or something of the sort, or really anything? They weren't synced over from my phone to my MacBook, however they were able to be synced when I got a new phone. It's nearly too laggy to go back and copy each one.



So, TLDR: I wrote stories to an invalid number spanning several years, I now need to know if there's an easy way to access chat logs to copy and paste them in an easier way than manually.


Thank you, if you need any additional information, I'll try to provide it.

Posted on Sep 1, 2022 11:13 AM

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Posted on Sep 1, 2022 11:27 AM

Try an application like PhoneView (Mac) or TouchCopy (Mac or Windows). Both will allow you to archive your messages (one thread or all of them) to either pdf or text files.


And maybe think about using the Notes app? Or, if that doesn't work, there are apps that will allow you to text messages to yourself, for example, Evernote.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 1, 2022 11:27 AM in response to zSubZer0

Try an application like PhoneView (Mac) or TouchCopy (Mac or Windows). Both will allow you to archive your messages (one thread or all of them) to either pdf or text files.


And maybe think about using the Notes app? Or, if that doesn't work, there are apps that will allow you to text messages to yourself, for example, Evernote.

Sep 1, 2022 12:14 PM in response to zSubZer0

zSubZer0 wrote:

Thank you, I'll let you know if this works! During the period where I had screen time, I couldn't use any app except for messages, phone, and settings iirc; I know I couldn't use notes, which upset me.

Absolutely understandable. But, if you prefer using Messages to create quick notes, even without the restriction, there are ways to keep doing it that might be easier.

Recovering Messages to an Invalid Address

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