5 Apple Messages settings to change for better privacy and cleanup

Elyse Betters Picaro, Senior Contributing Editor at ZDNET, shares her go-to iMessage adjustments for a cleaner, more private texting experience. First, she enables Messages in iCloud under Settings > Name > iCloud > See All > Messages in iCloud to sync conversations across Apple devices and simplify iPhone upgrades. She also sets auto-deletion of old threads via Settings > Apps > Messages > Keep Messages, choosing between 30 Days, 1 Year, or Forever—keeping her 10-year thread with her husband while manually swiping away others.

For security, she activates Advanced Data Protection (ADP) in iCloud settings, which end-to-end encrypts Messages backups so only trusted devices can access them—even Apple can’t unlock data with ADP, protecting against cloud breaches and government requests. She then reviews Text Message Forwarding to ensure SMS/MMS/RCS only appear on devices she still owns and locks (e.g., turning off an old household iPad). Finally, she sets Send and Receive to her phone number only, preventing accidental email exposure in new threads.