> But wait does it mean that if you haven't iCloud backup activated but use local backup you can actually sync message without storing private key iMessage doe

> But wait does it mean that if you haven't iCloud backup activated but use local backup you can actually sync message without storing private key iMessage doesn’t use the backup for syncing. If you want to sync then both devices need to be logged into your account. You can turn off iCloud backup for messages (with or without a local backup).