I want to save my text messages on iCloud forever as I have been.
But I need to set iPad for only a year (or month?) due to reaching device storage limit.
fyi- only the iPad is at limit. iPhone and iCloud have plenty of space.
Qu)? Is there a way to have different storage (time) setting for messages on devices (or 1 device) vs the icloud?
iPad, iOS 10
iOS/iPadOS does not provide a method by which to export and archive Messages to external or file storage. If using iCloud Messages, your iPad and other devices will keep a local copy of Messages that are stored in iCloud. If you set a deletion period, Messages will be unavoidably deleted from iCloud and your devices.
I use an application called iMazing on my Mac. TouchCopy is another one I've seen recommended. It has both Mac and Windows version. And there are probably others. Both will allow you to archive the messages as pdfs on your computer. These files are printable, emailable and can be viewed on pretty much any device. Neither is free but, if archiving your messages is important to you, they are well worth it.
Saving text messages on device & iCloud
