Your conversation history is all the instant messages you’ve sent and received from your contacts or groups, as well as details of any calls that you have made or received over Skype.
The following questions and answers will help you find your history and show you what you can do with it.
How do I find my conversation history?
To view your conversation history:
- Sign in to Skype.
- In the sidebar, the Recent section will list unread conversations and conversations you’ve had in the last 12 hours. Click on a conversation to view it.
- If you’d like to see conversations that are older than 12 hours, go to the sidebar and click History. The history list is displayed in the main window. Click on an item in the list to see it.
The History list displays conversations and events (such as calls, contact requests, files sent and received, or voicemail) under the headings:
- Today – This only appears in History if you have closed a conversation today from the Recent section in the sidebar (right-click a conversation and select Close, or to close all recent conversations go to the main menu and select Conversations > Clear Recent).
- Yesterday – Conversations or events that occurred more than 12 hours ago.
- This week – Conversations or events that have taken place in the current week.
- Last week – Conversations or events that have taken place in the previous week.
- Older – All other conversations or events.
If you are looking for a specific conversation, you can search for it using the Search box in the upper right of Skype. Simply start typing the name of the conversation, name of a participant, or keywords you are looking for and the search narrows down the possible matches. Click on a conversation to see all the instant messages that have been sent as part of that conversation. To resume any conversation, just send another instant message.
How do I search for something I’ve written in a conversation?
To search for something specific in a conversation, such as a keyword or phrase, view earlier messages and use the Find option. To do this:
- Sign in to Skype.
- Select the conversation you would like to search.
- At the top of the conversation window, under View Earlier Messages, select either 1 Week, 2 Weeks, 1 Month, 3 Months, 6 Months or 1 Year. This displays the conversation history for that period.
- From the menu bar, select Edit > Find or press Cmd + F on the keyboard. A search box opens.
- Type the word or phrase you are looking for and click the Next or Previous buttons to search the conversation. Any matches will be highlighted.
Where are my instant messages saved?
By default, the instant messages you send and receive are saved on your computer and you can view them at any time. If you sign in to Skype from another computer, your full conversation history won’t be available.
For more information on how Skype manages personal data, please refer to the
Skype Privacy Policy.
Can I transfer my conversation history from one computer to another?
To transfer your conversation history, you can copy your contact’s Skype Name folders from one computer to another. You can transfer your conversation history between different platforms, for example, from a Mac to Windows machine. To do this:
On your Mac, open Finder, and navigate to ~/Library/Application Support/Skype/, then copy the relevant Skype Name folders to the same location the new computer.
Note that ~ sign means your Home folder. To find your home folder, open Finder and in the main menu, select Go > Home or press Command (Apple)+Shift+H keys.
How do I mark conversations so I’ll remember to re-read them later?
To mark a conversation as unread, go to the sidebar, right-click the conversation you would like to re-read later and select Mark Conversation As Unread. This places a badge beside the conversation in the sidebar, and on the Skype icon on the dock, reminding you to read it later.
How do I hide my Recent conversations from the sidebar?
To hide a particular conversation from your Recent section in the sidebar, right-click the conversation and select Close. If you want to close all Recent conversations, in the main menu select Conversations > Clear Recent.
Closing a conversation won’t delete it from your conversation history. To see your conversation again, click History in the sidebar. The conversation will appear in the main window, under the Recent section.
If you would like to display the conversation in the Recent section again, simply click on the conversation in the History list.
How do I delete my conversation history?
It is not possible to delete individual conversations on Skype. However, you can delete your entire conversation history. This removes your entire history, which includes:
- Instant messages
- Calls
- Voicemails
- SMS messages
- Sent and received files
When your conversation history has been deleted, it can’t be recovered.
To delete your conversation history:
- Sign in to Skype.
- In the menu bar, click Skype > Preferences… and then click Privacy.
- In the Privacy panel, click Delete History.
Can I control how long my conversation history is stored?
To update your privacy settings to control how long your conversation history is stored for:
- Sign in to Skype.
- From the menu bar, select Skype > Preferences… and then click Privacy.
- Next to Save conversation history, click on the drop-down list and select the amount of time you would like your history to be saved for. You can select Forever, 1 Month, 3 Months, 1 Year or Never.
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to delete individual conversations. You can delete individual instant messages you have sent by clicking the little arrow to the right of the message and selecting Remove Message. However, this option is only available for a few minutes after you send your message.
