Bulk iOS iMessage photo download

December 31, 2022 9:16 AM

How do I bulk access and download every iMessage photo I’ve ever sent or received.

I’ve haven’t had success in finding recent solutions to this issue. My iMessage folder is 5 gigs and I know that for years iOS didn’t automatically save photos embedded in iMessage threads. I want a tool or process for accessing the photos all at once so I can save to my PC and decide which ones I want to keep. I do not want to have to go to each message thread to access the photos. The solution should present one folder or screen with all the photos embedded in the iMessage app so I can bulk download at once. Minimum steps to accessing all of them. I’m open to paid tools although they see a bit scammy. Thanks and happy new year!

posted by Captain Chesapeake to Computers & Internet (2 answers total)

CopyTrans is worth a look. I have used one of their free tools to copy files to my phone, including to specific non-Apple apps and it works very well. They have a paid tool called BackupExtractor and this page says it will retrieve all of your iMessages including photos.

It costs $20 today, or you can get all 7 of their tools for $29.99 right now, though.
posted by soelo at 1:21 PM on December 31, 2022

Best answer: You can use iMazing to export photos from Messages if they're all available. (e.g., if you have "Keep Messages" set to "Forever" and not 30 days or 1 year. If it's set to discard messages, then you may be out of luck.)

It's a bit slow but worth it.
posted by jzb at 8:22 PM on December 31, 2022