How to delete large message attachments on iPhone

Find the biggest attachments

1. Open Settings > General > iPhone Storage and wait for the list to load.
2. Tap Messages.
3. Tap Review Large Attachments.

You will see attachments from every conversation, sorted by size, with the largest at the top. Each row shows a thumbnail, the size and the conversation it came from, which helps you spot the clips worth keeping. Videos usually dominate. The same screen also breaks down Messages storage into categories such as photos, videos, GIFs and stickers, and other files, and many versions list your top conversations by size.

Delete attachments

• One at a time: swipe left on an item and tap Delete.
• Several: tap Edit, select the items, and tap the Delete button.

Deleting an attachment removes the file from the conversation, but the rest of the chat stays. If a video matters to you, open the conversation first, touch and hold it, and save it to your photo library before deleting. Note that a video you save to Photos then takes space there instead.

Clean up a single conversation

For one busy chat, open the conversation and tap the contact or group name at the top. Apple's iCloud storage guide describes going to the Photos section there, tapping Edit and selecting photos to delete. Recent versions also organize links, documents and other files on the same screen.

To remove an entire conversation, swipe left on it in the Messages list and tap Delete. That removes the text and every attachment in it.

Recently deleted conversations may sit in a Recently Deleted view in Messages for a while on recent versions, much like Photos, so space can take a little time to come back. If you need it right away, check that view in the Messages list and remove them there.

Messages in iCloud and other devices

If Messages in iCloud is on, your conversations sync across your devices and count toward your iCloud storage. Deleting an attachment or conversation on the iPhone removes it from iCloud and your other devices too. That is good for space in both places, but worth knowing before you delete something you only meant to remove from one device.

Stop it building up again

The Keep Messages option in the Messages section of Settings lets you choose how long messages are kept: 30 days, one year, or forever. Choosing a shorter period removes older messages and their attachments once they pass that age. It applies to all conversations, so save anything important first.

In a group chat that shares a lot of video, it can also help to save the clips you care about to Photos as they arrive, then clear the attachments from time to time.

Messages is rarely the only large item. Checking your storage shows the full picture, and if videos in your photo library are the bigger issue, finding large videos is the next step. For iCloud space in particular, see freeing up iCloud storage.