Permanently delete imessage from iPhone, iPad, iCloud??

HI, I'm new here so please forgive me. I've found similar threads but each a little different and not of use with my current products.

I have an iPhone 5S. I used this phone for about 2 years with a regular phone number but am switching carriers and waiting on a new SIM card. In the mean time I have used my iMessage from my phone and iPad via my Apple ID which works fine. That being said, I want to completely erase any iMessage stored on my phone or somewhere out there (ha) - previously someone had plugged in my iPhone to their computer and was able to pull up all my message history that I had "deleted" from just pressing delete. I think they may have used a 3rd party to do this, and/or their iTunes. I have an old Mac with version 10.5.8. This means I can't use the latest version of iTunes (I know, I need to just buy new software but I rarely use my actual computer now that I have an iPad) so I never plug my phone in or back it up or anything.

How can I make sure that my iMessage history is completely deleted from my phone/ipad/icloud or any way that someone could plug it into a computer and see my history? Do 3rd party apps have a way of seeing things no matter what we do? I just want to delete as much as possible.

I hope this all makes sense, if someone could please help me out I would really appreciate it.

Thanks!!!

Normally, when going over to a new carrier and inserting a new sim card, it would be best to do a reset of the phone. That will wipe all messages and everything else. But without iTunes it's more difficult to do. The following article shows you how to wipe your iPhone without using iTunes. I don't know if it will work since I have never tried it that way.

By the way, there is software that can extract messages or anything else off your iPhone. I have a copy of iExplorer that I use to extract messages from my iPhone and then print them out as PDF. Make sure you have a copy of "Find my iPhone" on your iPad. That way, if your iPhone ever gets lost or stolen, you can track it and remotely wipe it.

Thanks for the reply! So are you saying that even with the wiping of the iphone/reset there are still programs on the computer that can hook up to my iphone and get everything? Is it everything associated with the phone number, or Apple ID (since I use my email address riht now for imessage) or just everything that's ever been on the phone sent via any type of iMessage?

Also, are you sure iTunes is necessary to wipe an iphone, isn't that what factory reset it? I'm sure you are right and like I said I don't know much but I'm just checking for clarification. Thank you!

chscag said:

Normally, when going over to a new carrier and inserting a new sim card, it would be best to do a reset of the phone. That will wipe all messages and everything else. But without iTunes it's more difficult to do. The following article shows you how to wipe your iPhone without using iTunes. I don't know if it will work since I have never tried it that way.

By the way, there is software that can extract messages or anything else off your iPhone. I have a copy of iExplorer that I use to extract messages from my iPhone and then print them out as PDF. Make sure you have a copy of "Find my iPhone" on your iPad. That way, if your iPhone ever gets lost or stolen, you can track it and remotely wipe it.

Click to expand...

Also, one more thing I'm confused about..the article says to restore before resetting - but wouldn't this be saving things like iMessage and then putting them back on my phone? I'll add by the way that I've had my iCloud turned off from my phone and ipad for a long time now since I don't have enough storage.

You notice I said resetting an iPhone without iTunes is more difficult to do, I never said that it was necessary to use iTunes. That's why I included a link with instructions on how to do it. When you delete a message from your iPhone, it's still there until the space it once occupied has been overwritten.

Again, if the phone is wiped (reset) that removes everything. It's just like if you take a hard drive out of a computer that has data on it and even though that data had been deleted, it can still be recovered with special software. However, if you erase the drive, reformat it and write a new operating system on it, the data that was once there is going to be almost impossible to restore. When you reset an iPhone the same thing happens. The storage memory is erased and a new operating system is installed.

hel35 said:

Also, one more thing I'm confused about..the article says to restore before resetting - but wouldn't this be saving things like iMessage and then putting them back on my phone? I'll add by the way that I've had my iCloud turned off from my phone and ipad for a long time now since I don't have enough storage.

Click to expand...

The article is talking about restoring the iPhone to factory settings. That's what a reset does, it has nothing to do with restoring your data.

chscag said:

You notice I said resetting an iPhone without iTunes is more difficult to do, I never said that it was necessary to use iTunes. That's why I included a link with instructions on how to do it. When you delete a message from your iPhone, it's still there until the space it once occupied has been overwritten.

Again, if the phone is wiped (reset) that removes everything. It's just like if you take a hard drive out of a computer that has data on it and even though that data had been deleted, it can still be recovered with special software. However, if you erase the drive, reformat it and write a new operating system on it, the data that was once there is going to be almost impossible to restore. When you reset an iPhone the same thing happens. The storage memory is erased and a new operating system is installed.

Click to expand...

OK, that makes more sense to me, thank you for clarifying. If I did want to keep my contacts and photos etc, would that mean I would select the option to restore from backup after the reset? And if it does put those things back, does it put other data back too? I just don't get what restoring to an earlier backup would do like the article points out unless someone is looking to save their contacts etc? I don't have to do this, I prefer to have no record of any of my imessage etc and manually put back in my contacts but was just wondering. And again, like you said it is erased and a new opearting system is installed - that makes sense - but is anything linked to my apple ID which someone could still pull up through a program?

Yes, to restore photos and contacts they must be backed up first. However, if you make a backup and then restore that backup after you reset your iPhone, you're going to be back to where you started from as all data will be recovered. If you must maintain your contacts list and you are not using iCloud, you had better write them down somewhere first. With a newer Mac and using iCloud, contacts are automatically synced to your iPhone and iPad. But since you're not using iCloud and your Mac is still running Leopard, nothing is going to sync.

No one without having access to your Apple ID, is going to be able to gain access to your data. Your Apple ID and password should be kept confidential, and make sure you assign a passcode to your iPhone 5s and use fingerprint ID.

chscag said:

Yes, to restore photos and contacts they must be backed up first. However, if you make a backup and then restore that backup after you reset your iPhone, you're going to be back to where you started from as all data will be recovered. If you must maintain your contacts list and you are not using iCloud, you had better write them down somewhere first. With a newer Mac and using iCloud, contacts are automatically synced to your iPhone and iPad. But since you're not using iCloud and your Mac is still running Leopard, nothing is going to sync.

No one without having access to your Apple ID, is going to be able to gain access to your data. Your Apple ID and password should be kept confidential, and make sure you assign a passcode to your iPhone 5s and use fingerprint ID.

Click to expand...

OK, got it. That's what I thought about the being back where I started thing. I'll just write them down and manually do it. By the way, since I will be getting a new SIM card/carrier you mentioned it was a good idea to reset anyway. Are you sure this will still allow my new carrier to function properly, or is there any risk of clearing something needed to have cell service again? Not sure if that's even possible but don't want to take the risk. This is a Verizon phone that I cancelled the service on and will be putting in a SIM card from Consumer Cellular. (I know that it's unlocked/works because I tried a friend's CC SIM in mine and it worked)

Not a problem. All Verizon iPhones from the 5 on thru the 6 are unlocked and have a sim card slot in order to use them on GSM networks. Verizon doesn't tell you that because they want you to keep paying them their ridiculous fees. You should be up and running as soon as Consumer Cellular inserts the sim and activates it on their network.

I've already done the same thing when I switched over from Verizon to T-Mobile. The T-Mobile guy inserted the sim, activated it thru the T-Mobile system, and I was up and running in 5 minutes.

Iphone/Ipad iMessages

So, is it safe to say that if you switch carriers, and you do not use the backup with all your previous data, all the "iMessages" and texts are gone and will not auto load back onto devices?