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HOW to I UNCHECK Auto Delete Old Conversations. This box was checked by ACCIDENT. I have messages from my 27 year old son who died 2 years ago. WHAT DO I DO to NOT have my messages auto-deleted???
I WANT TO SAVE MY MESSAGES. NOT DELETE THEM. PLEEEEEASE HELP ME....
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
iPhone 14 Pro Max, iOS 17
If the messages have already been deleted, you may or may not be able to get them back. See if anything here helps:
Recovering deleted texts and iMessages - Apple Community
Note that if you have updated to iOS 18, the path to turn that off is now Settings>Apps>Messages>Keep Messages>Forever.
I also recommend that you archive any messages you have to a pdf or text file on your computer. To do this, you'll need a third-party application such as iMazing or TouchCopy. They are not free, but they are worth it to protect your messages.
Reach out to your provider and get a printed copy of those text messages. Texts usually stay in their data system for 30 or 60 days after deletion. I only know this from investigating infidelity, but they will usually print them for you as long as you’re the acct owner and the messages are there. It would also be really nice to have certain parts of convos that mean a lot to you from your son blown up and framed on your wall as a sweet reminder of the love you both shared. I’m sorry for your loss and I hope you’re able to get those messages back. Good luck!
Itallianno14 wrote:
Reach out to your provider and get a printed copy of those text messages. Texts usually stay in their data system for 30 or 60 days after deletion. I only know this from investigating infidelity, but they will usually print them for you as long as you’re the acct owner and the messages are there. It would also be really nice to have certain parts of convos that mean a lot to you from your son blown up and framed on your wall as a sweet reminder of the love you both shared. I’m sorry for your loss and I hope you’re able to get those messages back. Good luck!
I worked for a major US provider for 20 years. They neither made such a service available even with a subpoena. Nor did they keep actual text messages in the system beyond about 72 hours. They do have a record of when and from whom the messages were sent/received.
How do I uncheck Auto Delete old conversations?
