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Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
Searching text messaging threads for old messages, photos, and videos isn’t easy — it usually involves scrolling, scrolling, and more scrolling. But if you’re an iPhone user, there’s an easy trick for finding everything your texting buddies have sent you.
To find a photo or a video from a texting thread, open the Messages app and tap on the thread you want to search. You can tap on any thread – even if it’s a group thread, though you will only see the photos and videos exchanged within that thread (not between you and the contacts in the group).
Screenshot by Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
Once the thread is open, tap the Details link to the right of your contact’s name. In the Details menu, scroll down and you’ll see a section called Attachments. In this section, you’ll find all the photos, videos, sound clips, PDF files and any other attachments that have been exchanged in that thread. You will be able to see both the attachments you sent to the other person and any attachments they sent you.
Screenshot by Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
The attachments will be shown as a picture album, with files like sound clips showing up as icons. If you’d prefer to see a list instead of an album, tap on any attachment to open it in full screen mode, and then tap anywhere to display the menu options.
Screenshot by Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
In the bottom right corner, you’ll see a bulleted list icon; tap this icon to see the thread’s attachments in list format.
