• Messages are backed up in iCloud and encrypted if you enable iCloud Backup or Messages in iCloud.
• iMessage is end-to-end encrypted. The phone number or email address you use is shown to the people you contact, and you can choose to share your name and photo.
• Apple retains limited information about the use of iMessage, such as whether your device is eligible to use iMessage, for up to 30 days.

Messages is an app that allows users to communicate via SMS, MMS, RCS, iMessage, and Apple Messages for Business. iMessage is an Apple messaging service that can be used to send and receive iMessages in the Messages app on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, or Apple Watch. Messages sent over iMessage can include photos, videos, and other information, and they don’t count against your carrier messaging plan.

We designed iMessage to use end-to-end encryption, so there’s no way for Apple to decrypt the content of your conversations when they are in transit between devices. Attachments you send over iMessage (such as photos or videos) are encrypted so that no one but the sender and receiver(s) can access them. These encrypted attachments may be uploaded to Apple. To improve performance, your device may automatically upload attachments to Apple while you are composing an iMessage. If your message isn’t sent, the attachments are deleted from the server after 30 days. When a passcode or password is set on your iOS, iPadOS, visionOS, or watchOS device, stored messages are encrypted on your device so that they can’t be accessed unless the device has been unlocked.

If you lose cellular connection and lack internet access, an eligible iPhone may prompt you to begin sending and receiving messages over satellite. This enables you to send and receive iMessage and SMS messages over satellite. Friends and family who try sending you an iMessage once you have begun sending and receiving messages over satellite may see that you are messaging over satellite. The sending and receiving of SMS, including when it happens over satellite, is a service provided by your carrier and not Apple.

You can choose to automatically delete your iMessages from your device after 30 days or a year, or to keep them on your device forever. For your convenience, SMS, MMS, RCS, RCS Business Messages, Apple Messages for Business, and iMessages are backed up in iCloud and encrypted if you have enabled either iCloud Backup or Messages in iCloud. You can turn off both iCloud Backup and Messages in iCloud whenever you want. On your iOS, iPadOS, or visionOS device, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud. On Mac, go to Messages > Settings > iMessage, and deselect Enable Messages in iCloud.

You can sign in to iMessage using your Apple Account, or just your phone number. If you sign in to your Apple Account on your device, you will be signed in to iMessage automatically. Your Apple Account or phone numbers will be shown to the people you contact, and people can reach you using your Apple Account and email addresses or phone numbers on your account. You can select which phone numbers or email addresses you’d like to start new conversations from, and which phone numbers or email addresses you can receive messages and reply from, in iMessage settings. You can add and verify additional Reachable At information from your Apple Account page at www.apple.com/privacy.

Published Date: November 6, 2024