--- url: https://talkjs.com/features/message-history/ title: "Chat API with unlimited message history and storage | TalkJS" --- For AI agents: Find a documentation index at https://talkjs.com/llms.txt (full content at https://talkjs.com/llms-full.txt). Get a markdown version of any page by appending .md to its URL path. [Skip to content](https://talkjs.com/features/message-history/#main-content) Message history # Message history and storage, included on every plan Your users can scroll back to the first message of any conversation, and open every file shared in it, on every TalkJS plan. You pay per monthly active user, with no overage fees for stored messages or files. [Try for free](https://talkjs.com/dashboard/signup/premium/)[See pricing](https://talkjs.com/pricing/) No time limit on history Messages never expire on Basic, Growth and Enterprise. Users can read them as long as the conversation exists. No cap on stored messages Every plan includes unlimited conversations and messages. File storage included There's no limit on file storage. Each file can be up to 100 MB, or a custom size on Enterprise. ## Which chat APIs include message history and storage in the price? Of the seven below, only TalkJS includes all of it on every plan. Elsewhere, “unlimited storage” on a pricing page can still come with a time limit on what users can read, a cap on stored messages, or a fee for files. A time limit hurts most when people come back to old conversations: a buyer checking what a seller promised last spring, or a student looking for a file from last term’s class chat. How far back users can read, on each entry paid plan TalkJS Basic No time limit Stream Start No time limit, up to 5M stored messages Sendbird Starter 6 months CometChat Basic 6 months PubNub Starter Up to 6 months Ably Standard 30 days 06 months12 Bars that reach the edge have no time limit. From each vendor’s pricing page and docs, October 31, 2026. Twilio doesn’t publish a time limit. As of October 31, 2026. | Chat API | How far back users can read | Cap or fee on stored messages | File storage | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | TalkJS, every plan | No time limit | None | Included, 100 MB per file (custom on Enterprise) | | Stream | For as long as your plan is active | 5M messages on Start, 10M on Elevate, then [$5 per 1M](https://getstream.io/chat/pricing/) | $0.07 per GB stored and $0.17 per GB delivered | | Sendbird | [6 months](https://sendbird.com/pricing/chat), longer on Enterprise | Listed as unlimited | Not published | | CometChat | [6 months](https://www.cometchat.com/pricing) through its APIs and SDKs, longer at extra cost | None: messages are stored with no limit | No storage charge | | PubNub | 1 or 7 days on Free, up to 6 months on Starter, 1 year or unlimited on Pro, once you turn history on | None for standard chat storage | Kept 30 days on Starter, 5 MB per file | | Ably Chat | 30 days on Standard, 365 days on Pro | Each message read from history is billed as a message | Not hosted: files go in your own storage | | Twilio Conversations | Not published | Not published | $0.25 per GB per month | For prices at 10,000 and 25,000 monthly active users, see our [chat API comparison](https://talkjs.com/compare/best-chat-apis/). ## What do users see when they open an old conversation? Everything that was said in it, including what happened before they joined. New participants see the past Add someone to a conversation and they can read every earlier message, even if they were removed and added back. History stays after access ends Take away someone's access and they can still read the messages from before, but nothing new. Older messages load on request The Data API starts with the latest messages and loads older ones in batches, as far back as the conversation goes. Search old messages On Growth and Enterprise, users can search the Inbox. To include messages sent before you turned [search](https://talkjs.com/docs/Features/Conversations/Search/) on, choose “Index all messages”. ## Can I bring my existing chat history to TalkJS? Yes. Your users keep their old conversations when you switch. Original timestamps The [import API](https://talkjs.com/docs/REST_API/Import_Messages/) brings in users, conversations and messages with the times they were first sent, up to 1,000 messages per request. No surprise notifications Your users won't get emails or push notifications for messages you import. ## How do I export or delete message history? Your chat data is yours. Read it, copy it or remove it whenever you need to. Export everything Read all chat and user data through the [REST API](https://talkjs.com/docs/REST_API/Messages/) at any time, or run our export script to save it as JSON. Keep a copy in your database [Webhooks](https://talkjs.com/docs/Webhooks/) tell your server each time a message is sent, edited or deleted. Delete what you need to Delete one message, every message in a conversation, or the whole conversation with one REST API call. ## Where does TalkJS store message history? On our servers in the EU, unless you run TalkJS yourself. More on our [security page](https://talkjs.com/security/). Encrypted at rest and in transit Messages and files are encrypted on our servers and on their way to your users. ISO 27001 and GDPR TalkJS is ISO 27001 certified and GDPR compliant, acting as a data processor for your chat data. On your own servers Need history in your own infrastructure? Run [TalkJS on-premise](https://talkjs.com/features/on-premise-chat/) as an Enterprise add-on.