Is it safe to delete Messages attachments?

Photos, videos, audio messages and files sent and received in Messages on this Mac.

Review first

It's your own data, or hard to recreate. Decide item by item.

~/Library/Messages/Attachments

What it is

Messages keeps a copy of every attachment in your conversations here, in folders with coded names that only Messages understands. The folder grows with each photo, video and file you send or receive, and nothing is removed until you delete it in Messages or set Messages to keep messages for a shorter time. Removing files here directly leaves conversations with missing attachments, so remove them in Messages instead.

If it's removed

Deleted attachments stay in Recently Deleted in Messages for up to 30 days. If Messages in iCloud is on, deleting an attachment on this Mac also deletes it on your other devices.

What to do instead

In Messages, select a conversation, click the contact or group icon at the top, Shift-click the items you don't need, Control-click them, then choose Delete. To remove old conversations automatically, choose Messages > Settings, click General, then change Keep messages.

FREE

The free analyzer finds it and explains it, with these steps. The app doesn't remove it for you.

Sources

Last checked on 26 Sep 2026. Every entry is written and checked by hand; the app and the command-line tool use the same words.