The Facebook Messaging platform is a great tool for direct interactions between you and those who you are friends with.
If you regularly use Facebook on your mobile device then you will know that Messenger is a separate app, keeping your newsfeed access independent from your messages. What’s more, users who aren’t connected with you can still send messages, with these compiled into your ‘Message Requests’ filter – and you can even archive messages and conversations that you don’t want or need direct access to through your main inbox.
But what happens when you delete a message – accidentally or on purpose – and want to recover it?
Do deleted messages go through to your archive which can be recovered easily, or do you need to take different steps to undelete a message?
Is the Deleted Message in Your Archive?
When you want to move a message chain or conversation away from your main inbox, the easiest thing to do is swipe right on the conversation. The main option you are offered here is ‘Archive’ – moving the message stream away from your inbox but without permanently deleting it.
So, if you want to recover a message stream that you think you’ve deleted, the first port of call is to check your Archives folder as the likelihood is your message is sat here waiting to be rediscovered.
To access your archives, open the Messenger app and click on the menu button in the top left hand corner. Under your username, you will see ‘Chats’ and an option to open ‘Archive’. Click this and you will find a range of conversations and message streams that have been relegated from your main inbox.
Download Deleted Messages on a PC
If you can’t find your message stream in your Archive, then you may well have deleted it.
Which is where Facebook for PC devices comes into play.
Via a PC, users can access their Facebook information as a downloadable file – including messages which have been deleted but remain stored somewhere in the cloud.
To do this, open Facebook in a web browser on your PC device and head into ‘Settings’. From here, select ‘General Account Settings’ then ‘Your Facebook Information’. Tap ‘Download Your Information’ to start the process.
By ticking the box labelled ‘Messages’ from the download menu, you can create a file with all the messages that you have sent and received on Facebook – including those you have deleted.
Check Previous Email Notifications
Another thing worth trying is your email notifications, which may contain a copy of the message that you received and were notified about in the email.
While not necessarily a way to recover messages that have been deleted, this hack can help you to access the message (or some of it at least!)
Check Third Party Apps
The final option available is third party apps, which may be able to recover data that has been deleted from your Facebook account and Messenger inbox.
Data recovery tools are designed to reclaim access to deleted and damaged files, with plenty of solutions available online. Stellar is one of the most popular for recovering lost and deleted messages.
To use this, download the app and connect it to your device, then select ‘Messages’ as your recovery option. Wait for the app to scan your device and network, before displaying all the messages that have been deleted. You can then save all those that you wish to recover.
We hope that at least one of these options proves successful for you – giving you access to the messages that you’ve lost whether by accident or through a purposeful but regretful deleting.
