[Solved] Deleting Apple Watch Messages Deletes All iPhone Messages

With iOS 18 and watchOS 11, deleting a message on your iPhone or Apple Watch removes it from paired devices automatically. It’s a subtle yet handy function that makes it easier to organize the Apple ecosystem. You can keep your inbox tidy without managing the same texts on different platforms.

However, not everyone is on board with this change. Accidental deletions are common on a smaller screen like your smartwatch. It’s easy to tap or swipe elements by mistake. You might think this update is more restrictive than helpful since it further limits your syncing capabilities. If you share the same sentiment, here’s what you should know.

How Do I Delete Messages on Only One Device?

As of writing, you can’t. Messages syncs on your Apple Watch and iPhone in real time. You can turn off iCloud through Settings > [your Apple ID] > Messages, although it’ll stop texts from coming into your smartwatch altogether.

How To Retrieve a Deleted Message or Conversation on iPhone

1. Open Recently Deleted

2. Restore from iCloud Backup

If your texts aren’t in Recently Deleted, restore them from an iCloud Backup. It’ll require a complete factory reset. Although time consuming it’s an effective way to recover all the data you lost during the previous update, including old conversations.

NOTE

This only works if the messages were backed up before deletion. If your iCloud Backup is from after you lost them, those messages won’t be recoverable.

1. Go to Settings > General and scroll down to Transfer or Reset iPhone.
2. Select Erase All Content and Settings, and then tap Continue to confirm the action.
3. Wait for your device to restart.
   
4. Choose Restore from iCloud Backup.

3. Back up From Time Machine

Turn to Time Machine if your iCloud backup isn’t up-to-date. It lets you go back to older versions of the Messages app so that you can bring back chats you deleted months ago. Just note, this works only if you’ve been regularly backing up your Time Machine data.

1. Open Messages on your Mac.
2. In the menu bar at the top of your screen, click the Time Machine icon.
   
3. Select Enter Time Machine—this will pull up a display of your current files alongside a timeline of past backups.
   
4. Use the timeline on the right side of the Time Machine window to go back to the date when you still had the messages you’re looking to restore.
5. Navigate to ~/Library/Messages. You can get to this folder by clicking on the Library folder in your user directory. Look for the file chat.db—this file contains your message history.
6. Once you find the chat.db file from your desired backup, select it, then click Restore. Time Machine will restore this file to your Messages folder.
   
7. After Time Machine finishes restoring, reopen Messages to check if your message history has been successfully recovered.

4. Downgrade to iOS 17

If you’re really against this new function, consider downgrading your OS. iOS 18 and watchOS 11 won’t let you turn off cross-device message syncing. It’s a built-in functionality. As of now, installing an older OS version is the only way to remove this new feature altogether.

Fair warning: downgrading is a relatively complex process. It’s best for users with some experience in performing intermediate-level troubleshooting on Apple devices. And remember to back up your data properly.

Another option is to wait and see if Apple decides to add more control over message syncing in the future. If enough users request it, you might see the necessary adjustments in an iOS or watchOS point release. Check the Apple Newsroom or enable automatic updates on your devices to stay on top of developments.