HT201287: Use Messages with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

Learn about Use Messages with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
guerrero678
Level 1 (4 points)
iPhone

Q: How to keep iMessages off Mac?

So I'm not sure if it's just the way it works but I recently purchased a Mac and when setting it up I didn't set up the iMessage on my Mac to link with my phone because to me getting messages and calls on two places at the same time (if I'm using both at once) is really annoying, but yes when ever I use my phone for the day when I get on my computer later on there the messages are that I had sent/recieved throughout the day, only thing is they don't have a contact name obvously because I didn't set that feature up. My question is, is there a way to stop this? Or is that just the way it happens?

Posted on Sep 5, 2016 11:07 PM

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guerrero678

Q: How to keep iMessages off Mac?

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  • by zinacef,

    zinacef zinacef Sep 6, 2016 9:01 AM in response to guerrero678
    Level 4 (2,824 points)
    Applications
    Sep 6, 2016 9:01 AM in response to guerrero678

    You have a couple of ways to configure this. First off, make sure both the computer and iPhone have been set up to use the same Apple ID.

    1. You can disable Messages.app's ability to receive text messages on your Mac:
      • Open the Messages application. Access your preferences by going to the menubar and clicking Messages -> Preferences...
      • Under the "Accounts" tab, you will see all the accounts you've set up to use with Messages, including iCloud. Selecting "iCloud" from the options on the left side of that screen will show the email addresses you specified and your phone number.
      • Unchecking these will disable the ability of Messages.app to receive those messages you wish to send only between mobile devices.
    2. On your iPhone:
      • Tap "Settings", then scroll down to "Messages" and tap it.
      • Scroll down to "Send and Receive" and tap it. Look for the menu option heading that says "You can be reached by iMessage at:", which has your phone number (checked by default) and the email account you configured when you initially set up your iPhone. This is probably your apple ID, but can be any other email address you've specified.
      • Simply tap the email addresses that are checked to disable them. This should force messages to communicate with only your phone number.

    It should work by disabling all but your phone number on iMessage, but you may need to disable everything on your Mac as well. A little experimentation and tweaking should get you set in just a couple of minutes.