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In the macOS messages app, there is an option called "Keep messages" that allows you to change the duration for which messages are kept.

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What is unclear to me is: does this affect my messages stored in iCloud as well or just the local copies on my Mac?

I'd like them to stay in the cloud but not my Mac so as to not fill up my MBP's tiny 124 GB HD.

I see the option is also there in the iOS Messages settings. Is the choice synced across devices or again does this only affect local device storage and not iCloud.

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3 Answers 3

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I just had an Apple case with this. Basically, that message that says it will delete it from that device is true, but it will also delete it from iCloud. So if another device like your phone is set to keep messages forever, it won't remove them from your phone, but the sync with iCloud will only go back 30 days.

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    This is promising. Did apple provide a link to something written explaining this? (Knowledge base article or other guide?)
    – bmike ♦
    Commented Oct 6, 2022 at 17:16
  • They did not unfortunately, it was just over the phone.
    – Brady
    Commented Oct 7, 2022 at 19:10
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    Like pulling teeth to get some things documented. I appreciate you - thanks!
    – bmike ♦
    Commented Oct 8, 2022 at 1:36
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The setting applies to iCloud, so it affects messages on all devices. If you change the setting on one device, it will also update on the other as well.

There is not an option in this case to only keep 30 days on one device, but keep a whole year on another (as an example).

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  • Thanks, I guess that's the most intuitive answer and makes the most sense.
    – pinglock
    Commented Sep 23, 2021 at 1:47
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The two answers so far seem to be contradictory. In particular, the currently accepted answer from Brady suggests it is possible to keep all messages forever in iCloud, but only sync 30 days/1 year with a particular device, which is what both OP and I want.

However, according to both the earlier answer from Charlie and Does changing the Keep Messages setting on one device affect messages on all devices?, as well as my own unwitting testing, this is in fact not the case. As Charlie explained, iCloud syncs the Keep Messages setting, meaning when you change it on any device, iCloud will also only keep those messages. The forum post confirms this, as well as indicates that Apple reps themselves may not be aware that this is how it works (hence Brady’s answer, and the lack of documentation). It honestly seems like a design flaw to me.

OP and bmike, were you able to confirm what Brady said in your own testing? If so, I would love to find out how you got it to work. But if not, I believe it’s important for OP, if possible, to change the accepted answer to Charlie’s. Because others looking this up on Google and seeing only that answer may make the same mistake as me and lose almost 10 years' worth of valuable and irretrievable messages.

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  • It appears Apple has actually updated the language in iOS, sometime between 2020 and now, to partially reflect this, no longer saying “from your device” when changing the Keep Messages setting, but also still not explicitly saying “from iCloud” or “from all devices using iCloud for Messages”. See 2020 warning (taken from forum post) vs current warning
    – hhliu
    Commented Sep 28, 2023 at 4:24
  • Additionally, this seems to be an explicit change from how iCloud for Messages worked when first introduced in 2018, where it sounds like the Forever option was mandatory: apple.stackexchange.com/a/326908/316790
    – hhliu
    Commented Sep 28, 2023 at 4:33
  • I am less and less hopeful that Brady’s answer is correct, even though I desperately wish it were :’( discussions.apple.com/thread/251476436 discussions.apple.com/thread/252328011
    – hhliu
    Commented Sep 28, 2023 at 4:54
  • I never did find out for certain one way or another. I wish Apple would make it clear. Perhaps I should just undo the accepted answer and leave this unresolved for now until there's an authoritative answer?
    – pinglock
    Commented Sep 28, 2023 at 7:05
  • While it's debatable whether any single one of the various answers I linked is "authoritative", I believe the preponderance of evidence (not to mention my and multiple others' own personal loss) points to Charlie's simple answer as correct. If you are not comfortable accepting either his or mine, I would strongly urge that you at the very least undo accepting Brady's answer (which seems to be based on faulty info from a single misinformed Apple rep), so others finding this question (like bmike) will not be made a false promise, and at least do more research and hopefully avoid losing data.
    – hhliu
    Commented Sep 29, 2023 at 10:50

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