How can you see deleted messages on messenger

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How to recover deleted messages on Facebook Messenger
wikiHow Video: How to Retrieve Deleted Facebook Messages
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Can you view deleted messages on Messenger?
How do you find deleted messages on Facebook Messenger?

Posted on Jun 7, 2017 Updated on Mar 22, 2020, 4:18 pm CDT

Crap. You deleted a message on Facebook Messenger, and now you realize that was a mistake. A terrible mistake. If you truly deleted the conversation, there’s basically no way to retrieve it (on your end, at least). However, if you’re lucky, you may not have actually deleted it after all. Here’s how to find out what you did, and how to recover deleted messages.

How to recover deleted messages on Facebook Messenger

If by deleting a message from your inbox, you only tapped the “X” next to the message on the desktop, you didn’t delete it. You archived it. From the More dropdown menu in your Messenger inbox, tap Archived. Here, you’ll see all the messages you’ve archived. Hopefully, you’ll find your “deleted” message here. (Alternatively, you can search the contact’s name in the search bar, and your full conversation history should pop up.)

If the message isn’t here, you did delete it. And unfortunately, it is gone—only from your inbox, however. If the other party hasn’t deleted it, they still have it on their phone. That means, if you’re still on good terms with that person, you could ask them to re-send the information or take a screengrab of the conversation for you. Chances are, if you deleted the conversation, you may not be on speaking terms with that contact, though.

If that’s the case, your options are limited. While there are apps that claim to recover your recently deleted messages, a quick browse through the reviews reveals that most downloaders didn’t have any luck. Those who do report being able to recover old messages have a few things in common. They own a rooted Android phone, and the deleted message in question was very, very recently deleted, so it was still in the phone’s memory cache.

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Hindsight is 20/20. The best way to prevent this from happening in the future is not to delete messages but archive them instead. When you do this, the conversation’s history is preserved (so you can still find it later), but it’s removed from your inbox. So, if that friend sends you a new message, for example, the archived conversation will pop back into your inbox when their latest message arrives. To archive a conversation, open it up, then tap the gear icon in the upper right. Then, tap Archive.

There are clearly pros and cons to deciding whether to delete something or archive it. Before you even get to that point, though: If it’s not a message you wouldn’t be comfortable having to read out loud in court, you’re better off not sending it in the first place.

*First Published: Jun 7, 2017, 5:00 am CDT

Christina Bonnington

Christina Bonnington is a tech reporter who specializes in consumer gadgets, apps, and the trends shaping the technology industry. Her work has also appeared in Gizmodo, Wired, Refinery29, Slate, Bicycling, and Outside Magazine. She is based in the San Francisco Bay Area and has a background in electrical engineering.

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Did you delete a Facebook message that you meant to keep? Don't worry, there's hope! This wikiHow article will help you find ways to recover your deleted Facebook messages, as well as how to prevent message loss in the future.

1
Open the Messenger app on your Android, iPhone, or iPad. There's a good chance your missing messages were actually archived, not deleted. Deleting a conversation permanently in the mobile version of Messenger takes a few more steps than archiving, so people often choose the Archive option instead of proceeding to delete.
- If you deleted the message permanently, you would have seen a warning message stating that deletion is permanent, and that there'd be no way to restore the message. So, if you don't remember seeing a message like that, check the archive!
2
Tap your profile photo. It's at the top-left corner of Messenger.
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3
Tap Archived Chats. A list of chats you've archived will appear.
4
Swipe left on the deleted conversation. If you find the conversation in your Archived Chats, swiping left on it will bring up some options.
5
Tap Unarchive chat or Unarchive. The option you see will vary by platform. This moves the archived conversation back to your inbox.

1
Scroll through your messages. Before you embark on a mission to find (or mourn) your lost messages, scroll through your Facebook Messenger inbox and look for the chat you think you deleted. There's always a chance that your conversation just got buried under several newer ones.
2
Search for a name or keyword. If you don't see what you're looking for in your inbox, tap the Search bar at the top and search for anything you remember about the message. If you accidentally skipped over the message while scrolling, you may find it this way.
3
Ask the person (or people) you chatted with for a copy of the message. Luckily, deleting the message only deletes it from your inbox, not the inboxes of other participants. If you haven't found the message in your inbox (and it's not archived), contact the person or people you were chatting with and ask them to take a screenshot for you.

1
Find your downloaded data on your computer. Have you ever used Facebook's "Download Your Information" feature to save your personal data to your computer? If so, you probably have copies of your messages in the archive. The downloaded ZIP file is called "facebook-yourusername.zip", but if you unzipped it, you'll have a folder called "facebook-yourusername.
- It won't work to download your archive now, as the deleted message won't be included in a new archive. But if you downloaded your information before' deleting the message, you'll at least have record of the conversation through the moment you deleted it.
- If you created the archive before you sent or received the message you want to restore, the message won't be in the archive.
2
Unzip the archived file. If you haven't already, you can unzip the file easily. On a Mac, just double-click the file to unzip it. If you're using Windows, unzip it this way:
- Double-click the file beginning with "facebook" and ending with ".zip."
- Click Extract all at the top.
- Make sure there's a checkmark in the box next to "Show extracted files" and click Extract.
- Double-click the file called your_messages.html to open the messages your default web browser.
3
Double-click the Messages folder. It's inside the unzipped folder that starts with "Facebook" and ends with your username.
- If there is no Messages folder in your archive, you didn't choose to add messages to your archive before downloading.
4
Double-click your_messages.html. This opens a list of all of your messages in your default web browser.
5
Click the conversation you're looking for. This displays all messages in the conversation as of the point at which you created the archive. Hopefully this includes the message you're looking for!

1
Go to https://www.facebook.com on a computer. If you start backing up your Facebook data periodically, you'll always have copies of chats, posts, photos, and other data in case you accidentally delete something important.
- You can only create your backup on a computer—there's no way to do it on your phone or tablet.[1]
2
Click the down arrow at the top-right. A menu will expand.
3

Click Settings & Privacy on the menu. Additional options will expand.
4
Click Settings. It's in the Settings & Privacy menu.
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Click Your Facebook Information. This is in the left panel toward the top.
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Click View next to "Download Your Information." It's the third option in the right panel.
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Select a time range for the data you want to download. To do this, just click Select Dates, choose your start and end points, and then click Update.
8
Check the boxes next to everything you want to archive. Don't forget to check "Messages," as that will download your chats.
- If you just want to back up your messages, check "Messages" and remove all of the other checkmarks.
9
Click the Create File button. It's just below the date range. Facebook will now build your archive and alert you when it's ready to download.
- Facebook can usually have your download ready within 10 minutes, but this will vary depending on the number of conversations in your inbox (and how much other information you included in the archive).
- When you receive the confirmation email and/or notification from Facebook, click the link and follow the on-screen instructions to download your backup.

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How do I view images from messages that I deleted?

You cannot retrieve deleted messages, so you cannot view images from deleted messages unless you saved them in another location.
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What should I do if I lose my phone and can't remember my Facebook password?

Click the "forgot password" option, and Facebook will send you a temporary password to the e-mail address you have on record with your account.

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wikiHow Video: How to Retrieve Deleted Facebook Messages

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Article SummaryX

If you deleted a chat from Facebook Messenger, there's no way to restore it other than asking the other party to send you screenshots of their end. However, if you don't remember deleting the chat, you may have just archived it to your Hidden Chats folder. To look for a hidden chat on a computer, go to https://www.facebook.com/messages in your web browser. Then, click the gear icon at the top-left corner, and Hidden Chats from the menu. If you see the chat you're missing, click it to open it, and then reply to move it back to your inbox. To restore a hidden conversation on your phone or tablet, open Messenger and tap the Chats tab. Then, search for the person you were chatting with—if you see the conversation, tap it to open it. You can then reply to the message to move it back to your inbox.

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Can you view deleted messages on Messenger?

You can recover deleted Facebook messages by downloading them or checking old email notifications. You can also recover them by looking in the cache of the Messenger app, if you use Android. You can also check your archived messages or ask the person you were messaging with for a copy.