When you open Chat Memories, the first screen lets you select an iPhone backup. The app scans the default backup location automatically, so in most cases your backup will appear right away.

Choosing a backup in Chat Memories

Steps

  1. 1
    Open Chat Memories

    The app opens to the backup picker screen. If you've backed up your iPhone using Finder, your device should appear in the list automatically.

  2. 2
    Select your backup

    Each row shows the device name, iOS version, and the date of the last backup. Click the backup you want to browse.

  3. 3
    Grant Contacts access (optional)

    The app may ask for access to your Contacts. Granting this lets Chat Memories display real names instead of phone numbers in the chat list. You can skip this and grant it later from System Settings.

  4. 4
    Browse your chats

    The sidebar shows all conversations that contain media, sorted by the number of items. Click any chat to see its photos and videos.

Don't see your backup? Click Change Backup Folder… and navigate to your backup location. The default is ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/.

Encrypted backups

Backups created with encryption enabled appear in the list but are greyed out and cannot be selected. To use Chat Memories, create a new unencrypted backup in Finder. See How to create an iPhone backup for instructions.

Switching backups

To switch to a different backup, click Change Backup Folder… at the bottom of the backup list. Your current selection is remembered between app launches.