How To Delete Messages On Mac 2024 Guide

I have solutions for various situations. Whether you want to delete heavy attachments, single or multiple messages, or entirely remove conversations from your Mac, this guide has you covered. Dive in and declutter your inbox!

Before you delete text messages on Mac

Your Mac receives messages because the iCloud sync is enabled. So, when you make any changes to chat threads on Mac’s Messages app, it will sync across all your Apple devices. If you want to delete the messages from all devices, skip this section. However, if you want to delete messages only from your Mac without deleting them from your iPhone or other devices, here’s what you need to do first. After you disable iCloud for messages, any change done henceforth will only apply to your Mac. Note: If you enable messages again, everything will sync to the previous settings (as on the iCloud backup), so be cautious.

How to delete messages on Mac

Before I show you the steps to clear text messages, here are the basics. The Messages app on Mac has two sections:

Conversations: The side of the Messages window that lists all the conversations. Transcript: All messages received in a conversation, including text, photos, videos, audio clips, emojis, etc., are shown on the right-hand side.

Now that you understand the Messages app interface, let’s jump into the steps.

Delete single text messages on Mac

How to delete a conversation on Mac

Deleting a conversation will remove all the text messages and attachments sent or received from the selected recipient. Here’s how to do it: Alternatively,

Slide left the conversation with two fingers (from the trackpad or Magic Mouse) and select the Delete icon. Click Delete to confirm. Select the conversation, click Conversation from the menu bar, and choose Delete Conversation. Click Delete.

How to delete multiple messages on Mac

How to delete messages on Mac at once using Terminal

Notably, the result of these commands is permanent and will delete all chat transcripts and attachments respectively.

How to delete all messages on Mac using Finder 

Delete attachments from messages on Mac

If Messages have occupied significant storage on your Mac, that’s probably because of the large attachments sent or received on chats. So, rather than deleting all messages, you may only remove attachments to free up space on Mac.

How to automatically delete messages on Mac

Once you’ve cleaned your unwanted messages from the Messages app, you can schedule them to auto-delete, so you don’t have to repeat these processes. This way, you don’t have to repeat these processes of deleting messages from your Mac. Signing off… Decluttering surely takes some time, but there is no going back once you’ve adopted digital minimalism. Whether your target is minimalism or privacy, I hope you found a suitable way to delete messages on Mac. Learn more:

How to sign out of iMessage on Mac How to delete attachments in Messages on iPhone How to sync iMessage between iPhone, iPad, and Mac

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