iPhone 5 clearing saved messages from memory

[iMore Question]

Phone set on 30 day message saved. I cloud is off. Auto refresh off. But still shows 3.38GB saved messages when I check under manage storage

 

[mark-d]

Do you exchange photos and videos via iMessage? When m son was first born my message storage was huhge despite the 30 day delete being on but it was just because I was sharing a lot of photos and videos.

If that's not the reason then you can set up the phone again and restore the backup and see if that helps.