How do I delete all messages on iMessage on my Mac?

How do I efficiently delete all messages on iMessage on my Mac?

Posted on Feb 8, 2018 3:18 PM

Reply
4 replies

Feb 8, 2018 3:36 PM in response to MrsMKS

Your messages are stored in /Users/[your name]/Library/Messages. I would not necessarily recommend deleting that data unless you are willing to risk potential corruption of data. If you don't want to receive messages on your Mac anymore, open the Messages app, hit [Command][comma] and then navigate in the Messages Preferences pane to 'Accounts.' From there, select each of your accounts on the left-hand side and then click 'Sign Out' (on the right-hand side). This will sign you out of your accounts with messages. Alternatively, you can simply uncheck the box marked "Enable this account." If you just want to delete the messages from the Messages queue, then you can hit the 'x' by each entry. I hope this answers your question! If you have further trouble, you can look at this support article under the heading "Turn your phone number on or off for your Mac."

Feb 9, 2018 11:13 AM in response to MrsMKS

Hi,


Not that I would do it either, but if you were Saving Chats in Messages they are stored in:-

~/Library/Containers/com.apple.iChat/Data/Library/Messages/Archive


If you are sure you don't want to keep them (you have no choice with the first Location) then go for it.

It is however very difficult to put them back or indeed import/Migrate items from another computer.



User uploaded file

7:13 pm Friday; February 9, 2018


 iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Sierra)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 iPhone 6 iOS 11.x and an iPad (2)

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

How do I delete all messages on iMessage on my Mac?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.