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A Mac with macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later that has your Messages on it, and an iPhone with iOS 17 or later. The Mac app is required. It builds the search index the iPhone app uses.

If your Mac only has recent messages, turn on Messages in iCloud on the Mac (Messages → Settings → iMessage) and let it download your history first. Ago can only search what's on the Mac.

macOS keeps your Messages history in a protected folder. Full Disk Access is the setting that lets an app read it. Ago uses it to read your messages and your contacts' names, and nothing else. Nothing is uploaded anywhere.

To turn it on: open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access, click +, choose Ago from Applications, and switch it on. If macOS asks you to quit and reopen Ago, do that. Then click Index my Messages in Ago.

Usually a minute or two, even for a history with more than a million messages. It can take longer while your Mac is busy. After that, Ago keeps the index up to date as new messages arrive.

1. Make sure your iPhone and Mac are on the same Wi-Fi.
2. On your Mac, open Ago and choose Pair iPhone… (in the menu bar or the window). A QR code appears.
3. Open Ago on your iPhone and scan the code. Allow camera access (only used to scan the code) and local network access (only used to talk to your Mac).

That's it. Your phone will remember your Mac. Close the pairing window on your Mac when you're done. Only a device that scans that code can connect.

• Check that both are on the same Wi-Fi network. Guest networks and some office networks block devices from seeing each other.
• Keep the pairing window open on the Mac. The Mac is only visible to your phone while it's open.
• On your iPhone, check Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network and make sure Ago is on.
• If you use a VPN on either device, try turning it off while pairing.

On your iPhone, open the pairing screen in Ago and tap Forget next to your Mac. That unpairs it and deletes the copy of the index from your phone. Then pair again with any Mac.

Yes. Your iPhone keeps its own copy of the index, so search works anywhere, even in airplane mode. When you're back on the same Wi-Fi as your Mac, the copy refreshes with your newest messages. Results away from home are as fresh as the last refresh. Ago shows when that was.

Ago can only find what's in Messages on your Mac. If a conversation is only on your phone, turn on Messages in iCloud on both devices and let the Mac catch up. New messages appear in Ago a few minutes after they reach the Mac.

No. Ago only reads. It never changes, sends or deletes anything in Messages.

No. Ago never connects to the internet. Your Mac and iPhone talk only to each other, over your own Wi-Fi, and that connection is encrypted. We never see your messages. Read the privacy policy for the details.

iPhone: tap Forget on the pairing screen, or delete the app.

Mac: quit Ago, delete the folder ~/Library/Application Support/Ago (in Finder, choose Go → Go to Folder and paste that path), then move Ago to the Trash. You can also remove Ago from Full Disk Access in System Settings.

We don't hold a copy, so there's nothing for us to delete on our end.