Apple's iOS7 Messages App hogging memory

So you've deleted all unnecessary apps from your iPhone, and you're still low on memory... You've deleted photos and videos, music and other documents/eBooks and no matter what, something is mysteriously eating your memory. Is there a black hole sucking your memory? YES THERE IS!

Is there a conspiracy to make you feel helpless and convince you that you need to upgrade? ABSOLUTELY!

First, you investigate: 

Go to "Settings" then "General" and find "Usage". Here you will notice that "Messages" is hogging about 3GB worth of memory. Why? It has saved every SMS picture since eternity! Even if you go into your messages and manually delete them, they don't go away. So how do you reclaim your 3GB? You'll need to modify your iTunes backup directory and remove the SMS ATTACHMENTS! It's not for the lazy or technically inept, so be careful...  

Here's how:

First, go to a real computer! Windows or Mac, it doesn't matter, but it needs to have YOUR iTunes account on it. 

 

1. Back up your iPhone in iTunes (twice if possible, on the computer and on iCloud)
2. Find an app called iBackupBot (Google it) and open it on your computer. 
3. Go to your most recent back up. It will have the date and time on it. 
4. Click on Multimedia File Manager and click on the other Multimedia files tab
5. Find: MediaDomain/Library/SMS/Attachments and highlight all of them, then press delete.  You can also click to export to a folder of your choice, if you want to save them that is.  
6. Then go to System Files>MediaDomain>Library>SMS>Attachments
7. Highlight them all and press delete
8. Restore your phone to that backup using iTunes!  

 

 

The space will recovered, your messages are still there but without the attachments!  

 

FYI - I would make two back ups in case the modified one goes bad.