Fixing broken #images in macOS Messages

I recently found that I could not use the #images feature of Messages on my Mac. Trying to use it would just bring up a panel of gray squares, and failure to load when clicking on them.

A web search found this video explaining the problem, and presenting a fix:

Quick summary:

  • This often happens after restoring a system from a backup
  • The fix is to delete the folder ~/Library/Containers/#images. Then quit/restart Messages.
  • The fix worked for me.
  • The video is more verbose than it needs to be. It takes you the long way through the Finder to get to the ~/Library folder. And it says you need to empty the trash afterward - you don’t.
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