Messages craves cloud syncing, even when you don’t want it

Apple added iCloud for Messages several years ago to solve the problem of presence.1 Presence is a loose concept that describes where you are active at a given moment when some kind of alert or information should reach you. For instance, Apple’s awareness of which device you’re actively using should prevent an incoming phone call from ringing on several devices at once. (Spoiler: It does not.)

With Messages in iCloud enabled, all messages from this device and from other enabled devices sync.

In the context of Messages, however, this could be important before a full synchronization existed. You could read your messages on potentially several devices: your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, home Mac, and laptop or work Mac. Most of us have at least two of those. When you read a message, reply to a conversation, or start a new one, where should the messages that comprise the conversation live?

Before iCloud for Messages, Apple generally synced messages among devices that were logged into the same iCloud account and were awake, among other parameters. If one was turned off or lacked an Internet connection, the sync might never happen, leaving an incomplete record across your communications.

When you enable Messages in iCloud on all of your devices, all incoming SMS, MMS, iMessage, and RCS messages are ostensibly received by at least one device, uniquely labeled, and encrypted for upload to your iCloud account, where other devices retrieve the updates.2

This leads to reader Phil’s peculiar situation. Phil uses Messages only via his iPad. He preferred not to sync his conversations via iCloud for his own reasons. He has two Macs; he uses the Messages app on neither of them.

However, he writes:

Recently, I accidentally invoked Messages on my Mac Mini, and, for a brief moment, I saw an excerpt from one of my Messages threads, which was created and executed on my iPad. I quickly turned off the Messages app on my Mac Mini (thinking I could avoid switching the storage of my Messages to iCloud).

Subsequently, I checked my iCloud storage, and I had Messages turned OFF for the cloud. What is going on here? If my messages were not residing in the cloud, how could the Mac Mini Messages app pick up some stuff from one of my Messages threads?

Where I think Phil is being bitten is the default synchronization that occurs among any devices logged into the same iCloud account, whether or not Messages in iCloud is enabled. Some aspects of this can be disabled; other parts of the process require logging out of Messages entirely.

Here’s what you can check using iOS 26/iPadOS 26 and macOS 26 locations and labels:

Prevent text messages from passing beyond your iPhone by disabling forwarding devices.

Disable Messages in iCloud: Ensure you aren’t syncing via iCloud. Go to Settings/System Settings: Account Name: iCloud: Messages and disable “Use on this iPhone/iPad/Mac.”

Disable other devices: On an iPhone, go to Settings: Apps: Messages: Text Message Forwarding and disable other devices.

Disable accounts for incoming iMessage: On an iPhone or iPad, go to Settings: Apps: Messages: Send & Receive; on a Mac, go to Messages: Settings: iMessage. Disable the accounts you don’t want to receive messages from on a given device, which may be all addresses and phone numbers.

Log out of Messages: The nuclear option is to disable Messages entirely on devices you don’t want to have any messages sync with. On an iPhone or iPad, go to Settings: Apps: Messages: Send & Receive and tap the linked email after Apple Account at the bottom. Tap Sign Out. On a Mac, go to Messages: Settings: iMessage, and click Sign Out.

If you don’t want to receive iMessages, disable all the addresses and phone numbers at which you might receive them.

Did you know?

I wrote an entire book that covers Messages plus FaceTime and the highly overhauled and improved Phone app. It’s up to date for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26 Tahoe, and, yes, watchOS 26: Take Control of FaceTime and Messages.

[Got a question for the column? You can email glenn@sixcolors.com or use /glenn in our subscriber-only Discord community.]

Apple seemingly calls the feature iCloud for Messages, but labels it as Messages in iCloud. ↩

Note the critical factor that Messages in iCloud are protected only by your iCloud account login as the encryption key for stored Messages is part of that backup. Enable Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, and end-to-end encryption protects that embedded key. ↩