Right-click or control-click on the conversation you want to delete.Īlternatively, you can use the Clear Transcript function.If you’re not comfortable using Terminal or don’t want to delete every message, you can do it from within Messages. How to delete messages from the Messages app Those commands will delete messages and attachments permanently, without the need to empty the Trash. To delete attachments, use this command:.Paste the following command: rm –r ~/Library/Messages/chat.Go to Applications > Utilities and launch Terminal.

How to delete messages on your Mac using Terminalīefore we show you how to delete messages from within the app itself or in the Mac’s Finder, there is a very quick way to do it if you’re comfortable using Terminal. However, it also means that when you have conversations in Messages on your Mac, they won’t sync with your other devices. Now, when you delete messages, they’ll stay deleted. Uncheck the box next to ‘Enable Messages in iCloud’.Click the Messages menu and choose Preferences.If you want to remove the messages from all your devices, leave it enabled and skip to the next step.

If you leave it enabled, the messages you delete will be removed from all the devices synced with your AppleID. To remove messages permanently from your Mac but leave them on your other devices, you’ll have to disable Messages in iCloud. However, there may be occasions when you want to delete some or all of the messages from your Mac to free up space. One of its other benefits is that it archives all your messages on your Mac, whether the conversation took place there or not. You can even use it to send SMS messages from your Mac because if the person you’re messaging isn’t on iMessage, the communication is automatically routed over SMS.

But to help you do it all by yourself, we’ve gathered our best ideas and solutions below.Īpple’s iMessage system and the Messages app that goes with it make it very easy to sync messages across your Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. So here's a tip for you: Download CleanMyMac to quickly solve some of the issues mentioned in this article.

Messenger app for mac laptop