Have you deleted a message on Facebook and regretted your decision? Here is the thing you can do to get it back.
You've probably deleted a Facebook message at least once in your life. Maybe you were bothered by that person, or maybe you wanted to organize your inbox.
But whatever the reason, the chat disappears forever from your app and computer once deleted. So, what if you need that information?
You can try various methods to recover these messages, or at least what was said in them. This article explains how to recover deleted Facebook messages.
How to see deleted messages on Facebook archive
Your first place to go is archived messages. If you can't find the message you need in your chats, it could be because you deleted it. But you may have filed it, which is possible since the buttons on the app are one below the other.
Follow these steps to find messages stored on your computer:
- Go to the Facebook site and click Messenger icon top right.
- Select See everything in Messenger .
- Click the… icon next to Chat.
- Select Archived chats from the drop-down menu.
- Scroll down to see if you can find the message you need.
If you want to find messages stored in the Messenger app, the only way to do this is with the names of other people in the chat. Follow the steps below to do that:
- Launch the Messenger app on your phone.
- In the search bar, type the name of the person in the missing chat.
- If you have archived the message, it will appear below. Touch to view it
Either way, you need to send a new message if you want to bring the chat back to your primary inbox.
If you can't find the messages you're looking for using this method, you've probably deleted them. But don't lose hope - you can still try a few other things.
How to find deleted Facebook messages on Android
Android devices store cache data from almost any app you use. So, if you use Messenger on your Android phone, there's a good chance you'll be able to dig deep enough to find deleted chats:
- If you don't already have a file manager installed, download one from the Google Play Store.
- Launch it and go up Main memory> Android> data> com.facebook.ocra> cache> fb_temp.
- Inside that folder, you can find recent history messages. Hopefully, you would be able to locate the deleted message.
Unfortunately, if you are using an iPhone, it is much more difficult to access your phone backup for Messenger correspondence. In that situation, you may need to try a third party iPhone data recovery tool.
How to get Facebook messages deleted by other recipients
If you still can't find the deleted messages, another way to go is to contact the other side of the conversation. When you delete a Facebook chat, it is forever lost on your side. However, the person you were talking to probably still has a copy.
The easiest thing to do is ask them for a screenshot of the conversation or resend it by copying and pasting.
If you need the information for official purposes, such as proving you were talking to someone at a certain time, you can ask them to download a copy of their Facebook data.
Remember, however, that they don't have to share any information with you and can choose what to download and send.
How to recover deleted Facebook messages from your email or backup
As a last resort, you can check out two more places. If you know part of the content of the messages, please search your inbox. This method will only work if email notifications are enabled on Facebook.
The last place to check is the most recent Facebook backup file. If you don't know how to create that backup, you probably don't have one. If so, you have run out of your options.
Create a backup for current messages
To prevent this from happening again, back up your messages. One way to do this is to enable email notifications. Follow the steps below to do that:
- Open Facebook on your desktop and click on the arrow at the bottom in the upper right corner of the page.
- Select Settings and privacy from the menu, then select again Settings.
- Scroll down until you see Notifications in the left menu and click on it.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Email Adress: .
- Select All notifications, except those you turn off . This ensures that you will receive messages in your inbox in the future.
You can also create a backup of your messages. Unlike the WhatsApp backup, which allows you to recover any deleted messages, the Facebook version only saves your messages up to a certain time.
However, creating backups on Facebook can still be useful. If you want to do that, just follow the steps below:
- As before, go to the page Settings on your computer.
- Select your information on Facebook from the menu on the left.
- Click on Download your information.
- On this page, you can choose exactly what you want to back up and the dates you want to include. If you just want a backup of your messages, click Uncheck all . Then, please reselect Messages.
- Press Create File.
The process takes a few minutes. When finished, you will receive an email with the backup file. You can also download it from the tab Copies available.
Now you know how to recover deleted Facebook messages
So, can you recover deleted Facebook messages? On some occasions, yes. But only in a limited number of cases.
Even if you like everything to be completely organized and easy to access, that doesn't mean you need to delete old messages. This goes for any messaging software, not just Facebook Messenger.
Most places offer an archiving option, which keeps your primary mailbox clean, but still allows you to access that information in the future if you need it. Use them to make sure your messages are available.
