IMessage is a messaging service developed by Apple and is available on devices running iOS, macOS, and watchOS. The history of iMessage conversations can be retained for different durations, depending on your device settings.
On iOS devices, you can choose to keep iMessage history for 30 days, 1 year, or forever. This setting can be adjusted by going to “Settings” > “Messages” > “Keep Messages.” Once you select a time frame, iMessage conversations older than the selected duration will be automatically deleted from your device, freeing up storage space. If you opt for “Forever,” all your iMessage conversations will be retained until you manually delete them.
Similarly, on macOS devices, you can adjust the iMessage history retention by going to the Messages app and selecting “Preferences” from the menu. Under the “General” tab, you will find the option to keep messages for 30 days, 1 year, or forever.
It’s important to note that the duration of iMessage history retention is specific to each device. For example, if you have an iPhone and a MacBook, changing the settings on one device will not affect the other. Each device will retain iMessage conversations based on its individual settings.
Furthermore, if you have multiple Apple devices using the same Apple ID, the iMessage history will sync across all devices. This means that if you delete a conversation on one device, it will be deleted from all devices associated with that Apple ID.
To summarize, the length of iMessage history depends on the settings you have chosen on each device. You can opt to retain messages for 30 days, 1 year, or indefinitely. Keep in mind that these settings are device-specific and changing them on one device will not affect others.