Remember what matters from your texts.
Kindred for Messages reads Messages on your Mac and keeps a short summary of what’s new with each person in Kindred you text. When a friend mentions a new job or a move, Kindred offers to remember it, so you can ask how it’s going.
Free · version 1.0.1 · macOS 27 or later · needs Kindred 1.2 or later for Mac
On your phone? Open this page on your Mac.
Lately, in two sentences
Each person you text gets a short summary of the last 30 days on their page in Kindred: what you talked about, how many messages, over how many days. Read it on the way to coffee and pick up where you left off.
Big news, for you to keep
When someone tells you about a new job, a move, a new baby, or a trip, Kindred offers it as something to remember about them, with the date. A birthday you wished them happy is offered as their birthday. Nothing is added until you tap Add.
Texting counts
A day you wrote to someone counts as being in touch, so the people you text all the time aren't suggested as someone you'd love to hear from.
Times you got together
Texts that say you met up (“so good to see you today”) are offered as a meeting to add notes to, so the coffee doesn't go unrecorded.
Read on your Mac. Never sent to us.
- Your messages are read and summarized on your Mac by Apple Intelligence. They are never sent to us or to anyone else. Kindred has no servers.
- What Kindred keeps is the summary, not the conversation: two sentences per person, message counts, the day you last wrote, and news waiting for you to add or set aside. That reaches your iPhone and iPad through your own iCloud.
- You look over the first summaries before anything is added, and you can leave anyone out. Group chats and people who aren’t in Kindred are skipped.
The details are in the privacy policy.
Set it up in a few minutes
- 1
Download and move it to Applications
Open the zip file, then drag Kindred for Messages into your Applications folder.
- 2
Open it and allow Full Disk Access
It lives in the menu bar. Click Open Full Disk Access and turn on Kindred for Messages. macOS keeps your Messages history private, and this is the only way any app can read it.
- 3
Open Kindred on the same Mac
Kindred tells Kindred for Messages who to look for. The first read covers the last 30 days.
- 4
Look over the first summaries
They wait on Today in Kindred for you to add the people you want and leave out anyone you don't. After that, new summaries arrive on their own. You can change this under Kindred's Settings › Tracking › Kindred for Messages.
- 5
Leave Open at login on
Kindred for Messages only reads new messages while it's open. It is quiet in the menu bar and reads when Messages changes.
Questions
Why isn't it in the App Store?
Apps from the Mac App Store run in a sandbox that keeps them out of your Messages history, even with your permission. So Kindred for Messages is a separate, free app, signed by Pointe Ventures and checked by Apple (notarized) before you open it. Kindred itself comes from the App Store as usual and works fully without it.
Does it work on my iPhone?
Apple doesn't let iPhone apps read your messages, so Kindred for Messages runs on your Mac. The summaries reach Kindred on your iPhone and iPad through your iCloud. Turn on Messages in iCloud (Messages › Settings › iMessage on the Mac) so the texts you send from your iPhone are on your Mac too.
What does it need?
A Mac with macOS 27 or later and Apple Intelligence turned on, with Kindred 1.2 or later for Mac on the same Mac. The summaries are written by Apple Intelligence on your Mac, so without it Kindred for Messages has nothing to write.
What about group chats and people who aren't in Kindred?
Only one-to-one conversations with people already in Kindred are summarized. Group chats, numbers Kindred doesn't know, and people you've left out are skipped, and nothing about them is saved.
What about sad news?
News about health or a loss in the family is offered too, so you can be kind about it later. Kindred keeps it private: it's never given as a reason to reach out or put in a drafted message. If you'd rather not see it, turn off Include health and family loss news under Kindred's Settings › Tracking › Kindred for Messages.
How do I update it?
Download the newest version from this page and replace the copy in your Applications folder. It picks up where it left off.
How do I stop it or remove it?
Click its icon in the menu bar and choose Quit. If you can't see the icon (macOS hides some when the menu bar is full), open Kindred for Messages from your Applications folder and click Quit in its window. To stop it opening at login, turn off Open at login there. To remove it, quit it, drag it from Applications to the Trash, and turn it off in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Full Disk Access. Summaries already in Kindred stay. To remove someone's, leave them out under Kindred's Settings › Tracking › Kindred for Messages.
Is it free?
Yes. Kindred for Messages is free. It works with Kindred, which is free to try and then a one-time purchase.
Something not working? Email support@kindredcontact.com.