During the process of updating a house I'm generating lots of photos through iMessage conversations. I haven't had any luck tracking down how to save these individual photos out of iMessages into one folder, preferably on my iMac. I know I can forward all of the photos at once into a new message but I want to be able to access those photos for cropping, etc. What am I missing?

By huskerbp from Apple Support Community

When iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users send iMessages, they cannot only send text messages, but also the pictures with ease, so the users will have a lot of photos in their iMessages. In certain occasions, the users want to find a way to back up iMessages photos to Mac or PC for the other uses.

Maybe the fastest way to do that is to send the photos via email. When users get access to their iMessage photos, they are allowed to tap the photos and choose "Send via email". Then the users can send the photos to their own email, and download them on computer. Of course, the users had better to finish this trick over Wi-Fi connection, or they will use a lot of cellular traffic.

Users are also allowed to copy these iMessage photos to Camera Roll. They only need to tap the "Share" button in iMessage, and then tap "Save Image" to copy the photos to Camera Roll. Then users can take advantage of Image Capture on your Mac computer to back up iMessage photos to Mac. This method is also easy to use, and it won't need Wi-Fi connection.

If users want to back up iMessage photos to Mac computer in batch, they will need an iPhone data recovery program for Mac. This kind of software doesn't only help to recover deleted files from iOS devices, but also enables users to backup iPhone, iPad and iPod touch files to computer. And the guidance below will show you how to use this kind of software to save photos from iMessage to Mac for backup.

Among all the iPhone data recovery programs you can find on computer, Leawo iOS Data Recovery for Mac can be regarded as one of the best on Mac computers. The program enables users to recover 6 kinds of deleted files from iOS devices, and back up to 12 kinds of files to computer. The following guidance will show you how to back up iMessage photos to Mac, and you are allowed to free download the software to have a try. Note that the trial version will stop at the preview window.

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iOS Data Recovery for Mac 

☉ Multifunctional iPad/iPod/iPhone data recovery software for all Mac users.

☉ Extract up to 12 kinds of lost files in iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

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☉ Get lost data back even the iOS devices are broken or damaged.

☉ Fully support iOS 9, latest iOS devices including iPhone 6s/6s plus, etc.

Download Windows Version Download Mac Version

Part 1. Back up iMessage Photos from iPhone to Mac

1. Run Leawo iOS Data Recovery for Mac on your computer, and you will see two recovery modes in the main interface, one is "Recover from iOS Device", and the other is "Recover from iTunes Backup".
Choose Recovery Mode

2. Connect your iOS device to computer with the USB cable, and the software will recognize your iPhone. Click "Start" in the window, and then Leawo iOS Data Recovery will analyze your iDevice.
Analyze iOS Device

3. After the analysis, the software will scan the contents in your iPhone. It will list 12 categories in the left sidebar, and allow users to choose after the scan. Choose "Messages" and then you will see all the messages in your iPhone, including iMessages and the photos. Check the ones you want to back up and then click the "Recover" button at the right bottom. If the photos are sent as message attachments, you will need to choose "Message Attachments" below "Messages" category, and then check the ones you need.
Preview and Select Photos

4. After clicking the recover button, you will see a pop-up dialog. Click "Open" in the dialog to choose a folder on your Mac computer to save the pictures. Then click "Go" to start backing up iMessage photos to Mac.
Choose Target Folder

Leawo iOS Data Recovery will finish the backup process in short time. The pictures will be saved in the file type just the same as they are in iMessage. So users are able to view and manage the photos with no efforts.

Part 2. Back up iMessage Photos from iPhone Backup to Mac

1. Start Leawo iOS Data Recovery, and choose "Recover from iTunes Backup" in the main interface. The software will display all the backups you have created on this computer. Choose the iPhone backup and click "Scan" at the right bottom.
Choose iPhone Backup to Scan

2. The software will scan the contents in your iPhone backup, and list 12 categories in the left sidebar. When the scan is done, choose "Message Attachment" and then the contents will show up in the right part. Check the ones you need and then click "Recover" at the right bottom.
Select Text Messages to Extract

3. After clicking the recover button, you will see the pop-up dialog. Click "Open" to choose a target folder on your computer to save the exported files, and then click "Go" to begin to save photos from iMessage to Mac.
Choose Target Folder

When the exporting process is done, you will find the text messages in the target folder. The text messages are saved in an HTML file and a CSV file, and you are able to view them on your computer with no efforts.

Leawo iOS Data Recovery for Mac doesn't only help users to backup files from iOS devices to computer, but also helps to recover deleted files from iOS devices. For example, you are able to recover deleted notes from iPad with the help of this program. If you are interested in Leawo iOS Data Recovery for Mac, just free download the software and have a try.