Your iPhone provides a number of ways to manage storage, including some options that occur automatically. Find out how to stop your iPhone from automatically deleting text messages that are 30 days or a year old.
- Open the Settings app.
- Select Messages.
- Touch the Keep Messages button.
- Tap the Forever option.
Our article continues below with additional information and pictures of these steps.
Text messaging has exploded in popularity so much that it is the dominant means of communication for many people.
But this popularity means that you can end up with a lot of conversations that can contain a ton of messages.
Your iPhone may currently be configured to delete text messages automatically after 30 days, or possibly a year. This is helpful in managing the space that the messages take up, but it can wind up deleting important information.
If you would prefer that your iPhone not delete these old messages, you can change a setting to prevent it.
Our guide below will show you how to make your iPhone stop deleting old text messages after 30 days.
How to Turn Off Automatic Message Deletion on iPhone
The steps in this article were performed on an iPhone 11 in iOS 13.6.1.
Step 1: Tap the Settings icon.
Step 2: Scroll down and choose Messages.
Step 3: Scroll down and touch the Keep Messages button.
Step 4: Select the Forever option.
Now your iPhone will keep your text and iMessages indefinitely, or until you elect to delete them yourself.
Additional reading
- How to turn off the passcode on an iPhone 11
- How to turn off email notifications on an iPhone 11
- How to find an iPhone’s IP address
- How to change the WiFi password on an iPhone
- How to turn off flash on an iPhone
Matt Jacobs has been working as an IT consultant for small businesses since receiving his Master’s degree in 2003. While he still does some consulting work, his primary focus now is on creating technology support content for SupportYourTech.com.
His work can be found on many websites and focuses on topics such as Microsoft Office, Apple devices, Android devices, Photoshop and more.