Apple'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 Sentinel. You tin can even use information technology to send SMS letters from your Mac because if the person yous're messaging isn't on iMessage, the advice is automatically routed over SMS. I of its other benefits is that it archives all your messages on your Mac, whether the conversation took place there or not. However, there may exist occasions when you want to delete some or all of the letters from your Mac to free up infinite. We'll bear witness you how to do that hither.

Disable Messages in iCloud

To remove messages permanently from your Mac but leave them on your other devices, you'll have to disable Messages in iCloud. If yous get out information technology enabled, the messages you delete will be removed from all the devices synced with your AppleID. If yous want to remove the messages from all your devices, leave information technology enabled and skip to the next step.

  • Launch Messages.
  • Click the Messages menu and choose Preferences.
  • Select iMessage.
  • Uncheck the box side by side to 'Enable Messages in iCloud'
  • Close Preferences.

Now, when you delete messages, they'll stay deleted. Notwithstanding, information technology too means that when you accept conversations in Messages on your Mac, they won't sync with your other devices.

How to delete messages on your Mac using Terminal

Earlier nosotros show you how to delete messages from within the app itself or in the Mac'southward Finder, there is a very quick way to do information technology if you're comfortable using Terminal. Here'south how.

  1. Get to Applications > Utilities and launch Terminal.
  2. Paste the following command: rm –r ~/Library/Messages/chat
  3. To delete attachments, use this control:

rm –r ~/Library/Messages/Attachments/??

Those commands will delete messages and attachments permanently, without the need to empty the Trash.

How to delete messages from the Messages app

If you're not comfy using Terminal or don't want to delete every bulletin, you can do it from within Messages. Here'southward how.

  • Open Messages.
  • Correct-click or control-click on the conversation y'all want to delete.
  • Choose Delete Conversation.
  • Click Delete to confirm.

Alternatively, you can use the Articulate Transcript function. This does the aforementioned thing: it deletes the conversation from Messages on your Mac.

  1. Select the chat you want to delete.
  2. Click on the Edit menu and choose Clear Transcript.
  3. Printing Articulate to confirm.

If you only want to delete one message from a conversation and not the whole chat, practice this.

  1. Right-click on the bulletin you want to delete.
  2. Choose Delete.
  3. Press Delete to confirm.

How to delete multiple messages on your Mac from Finder

Deleting individual messages and conversations is fine if that's all you desire to practice. However, if you desire to clear all the messages and conversations on your Mac and don't desire to use Terminal, it could be a very long and laborious process. Thankfully, at that place is an easier way.

  1. In the Finder, click on the Go carte and choose Go to Folder.
  2. Paste this file path into the window: ~/Library/Messages
  3. Drag the following files to the Trash:

conversation.db

chat.db-wal

chat.db-shm

4. Empty the Trash.

How to delete attachments from Messages

The previous method will delete messages from your Mac, simply non attachments. To remove attachments, paste this file path into the Go To Folder box and drag its contents to the Trash: ~/Library/Messages/Attachments

On recent versions of macOS, there is some other mode to delete attachments.

  • Click on the Apple tree menu and choose Most This Mac.
  • Choose the Storage tab and click Manage.
  • Select Messages in the sidebar.
  • You will see in the chief window a list of all the attachments on your Mac.
  • To remove them all, select the first one, printing and concord Shift, then select the terminal one. They should all now be selected. Alternatively, select the first and press Command-A to select all.
  • Printing Delete.

All the attachments you selected volition now be deleted. Of grade, you don't have to delete them all. You tin can cull which to proceed and which to delete. If you only desire to delete large attachments, press Size in the summit right of the window to social club attachments by file size. And then you can choose the biggest ones and only delete those.

You can also preview attachments using Quick Look. Simply select ane and printing the spacebar. Finally, if you select an zipper and printing Testify in Finder, you'll find that the attachment is in the ~/Library/Messages/Attachments nosotros navigated to from Become To Folder. This is because both options practise the same affair – they remove files from that binder.

How to delete messages from other apps

Each messaging app has a different method for deleting messages. In Skype and the Facebook Messenger desktop applications, for example, the process is similar to Messages. Correct-click or Command-click on a chat in the conversation listing and cull Delete. In some apps, you lot tin also delete individual letters, though unremarkably, they volition be deleted at your end, but the recipient will yet see them. So again, different services handle it in different ways.

Messaging apps aren't the simply place yous might want to remove traces of activity to maintain privacy, of class. Your browser history, recent Items list, and fifty-fifty the Wi-Fi networks you accept connected to in the by can all exist used to find out information about you.

Fortunately, you can take control of those, too, with a petty help from CleanMyMac X. The Privacy module in CleanMyMac Ten allows you to clear browser history, your Mac's Recent Items List, remove old Wi-Fi networks, and revoke permissions you've granted to applications to do things similar access your webcam or microphone.

CleanMyMac X - Skype in Privacy module
  1. Download the gratis version of the app and install information technology.
  2. Choose Privacy in the sidebar and press Scan.
  3. When it's finished, click on the section you lot want to tackle starting time, due east.g., Wi-fi Networks.
  4. Check the box side by side to information technology and press Remove, or apply the dropdown arrows in the right-manus window to drill down in more item.In each section, you can choose to remove everything in the department, or yous can specify which networks you want to remove, permissions you want to reset, browser data yous want to delete, or items on the Recent Items list you lot want to get rid of.

Apple's Letters is a great tool for keeping in touch with friends and family unit members, partly considering information technology syncs messages and attachments across all your devices. But that can mean your Mac stores lots of messages and attachments, which take up space. If you want to delete messages or conversations, follow the steps above and choose the method that works best for y'all.