Messages Keep Forever?

[davidwes]

Hi,

I'm trying desperately to find room on my 16GB phone. Right now my largest user is Messages at 1.03GB (second largest is Instagram at 426.MB).

So in messages settings, I can change how long I keep messages. I'm just trying to figure out if that affects the actual message or simply what's on my phone. I don't want to lose my messages - I want them to stay on my comptuer, I want to have them again when I get a larger capacity iPhone, etc but I don't necessarily need them on my phone right now.

 

[C DM]

Hi,

I'm trying desperately to find room on my 16GB phone. Right now my largest user is Messages at 1.03GB (second largest is Instagram at 426.MB).

So in messages settings, I can change how long I keep messages. I'm just trying to figure out if that affects the actual message or simply what's on my phone. I don't want to lose my messages - I want them to stay on my comptuer, I want to have them again when I get a larger capacity iPhone, etc but I don't necessarily need them on my phone right now.

Well, it would remove them from your phone. That said, how are they on your computer and how do you expect to have them back on another (larger capacity) iPhone down the line?

 

[davidwes]

Well, it would remove them from your phone. That said, how are they on your computer and how do you expect to have them back on another (larger capacity) iPhone down the line?

My messages are always on my iPad, Computer and iPhone. I thought when I get a new iPhone all the message would come with me just like my email?

 

[C DM]

My messages are always on my iPad, Computer and iPhone. I thought when I get a new iPhone all the message would come with me just like my email?

I see. No, messages are different, they are delivered to the devices that you have them enabled on and live on those devices separately essentially (they aren't in the cloud or some server like email would be). The only realistic way you might be able to get messages back later is if you make a backup of your device with all the messages and then later restore from that backup.

As far as what takes up space in messages it's usually attachments like photos/videos/audio. So another alternative is you can go through your messages and delete those media items in them (at least the ones you might not really care about) and that might free up a good amount of space too.