6 Ways to Recover Deleted Facebook Messages

Did you accidentally delete a message you wanted to keep? Some of the Facebook conversations we have with other people are critical, and it’s terrible to lose them, but don’t panic. There is a way to recover lost conversations. In fact, there are several ways, and this article will show you what you can do to recover deleted Facebook messages. You will also learn how to protect yourself from losing Facebook messages in the future.

Note that Facebook keeps all your deleted data for 90 days. This means you have exactly 90 days to locate deleted text messages. After that, the chances of you succeeding are very slim.

1. Recover Archived Messages

So you’re looking for a specific message but can’t find it? You suspect you deleted it by mistake, but you might as well have archived it. You won’t lose anything by checking your archived chats. If the conversation you’re looking for is there, you can easily restore it.

If you are an avid user of the messenger app for Android or iPhone, it is more likely that you have accidentally archived a message. Deleting it permanently takes a few steps, and at the end you will receive a confirmation notification. It’s not that easy to accidentally delete a message from the mobile app, so let’s see:

1. Open the Messenger app on your phone.
2. Tap your profile icon in the top left corner of the screen.

3. In the Preferences section, select Archived chats.

4. Find the conversation you want to retrieve and swipe left if you’re using an iPhone, or tap and hold if you’re an Android user.
5. A popup menu will appear, select Dear, and the chat will appear in your inbox.

If you want to relay a message using your computer, follow these steps:

1. Open Facebook in your web browser.
2. Go to Conversationsand choose See Everything in Messenger at the bottom of the chat screen. It is usually written in blue.

3. Select the three-dot menu in the upper left corner of the screen.

4. Choose Archived chats.

5. Find the conversation you were looking for and select the three dots menu next to it.

6. Choose Dear archived chat.

Congratulations, you have successfully unarchived the lost conversation. It now appears in your regular inbox.

2. Ask the other person for a copy

Sometimes the message you’re looking for is simply buried in the sea of ​​messages in your inbox. Try scrolling through Messenger and see if you can find the conversation you thought you deleted. If you still can’t see it, use the search bar and type the name of the person you chatted with. If the message has not been deleted, it should appear in the inbox.

If you have confirmed that you have deleted the conversation, you can always ask the other person to send you a copy of your conversation. Deleting a message only removes it from your inbox. The recipient, or the other side of the conversation, should still have it in their inbox. They can easily take a screenshot of the conversation and send it to you or copy the message and paste it as a new one.

3. Check downloaded data

If you’ve ever used Facebook’s Download Your Info feature, chances are you’ve saved the lost conversation to your computer. You can find it in a zip file named “facebook-yourusername.zip.” When you unzip it, the folder will be called “facebook-yourusername”.

Here’s how to extract the file:

1. If you are a Mac user, simply double click to extract.
2. For Windows users, double-click and then select Extract Everything. You can also right click on the Zipped file and select Extract Everything from the menu.

3. Select the location where you want the files to be extracted, and make sure that the Show extracted files when complete box is checked. Then click Withdraw.

Now go to the extracted files and find a folder named your_messages.htmldouble-click it, and your messages will open in the default web browser.

This method will not work if you have the Download your information feature after you’ve deleted the message you’re looking for. It also won’t work if you used the feature before the conversation took place.

4. Use File Explorer or connect your Android device to your computer

You can try to retrieve the deleted chats from your Android phone using the File Explorer app. However, this will not work if you have recently formatted your device.

1. Open the File Explorer app.
2. In the storage section, navigate to either the SD card or Internal storage (it depends on where your phone keeps the temporary files)

3. Find the Android folder and open it. This is where all Android apps are stored.

4. Open the Data directory and go to the Cupboard guide. Find in it the fb_temp file. Open this file and you can use it to retrieve deleted messages from Facebook Messenger.

You can follow the same steps to find the fb_temp file when you connect your Android phone to a computer. In that case, you don’t need the File Explorer app. You can just open your phone’s directory, and in the Facebook Data folder, search for “com.facebook.orca.” There you will find the temporary file you need.

Unfortunately, iOS devices such as iPhones and iPads cannot use this little trick to access the temporary files. Instead, you will need to use data recovery software. There are many data recovery programs out there that can retrieve deleted files such as Facebook chats, posts, photos and more.

5. Check your email

If you can remember some of the content of the message you’re trying to retrieve, you can search your email. Open the email containing the Facebook notification, and the message will be there. Note that this will only work if you have opted in to receive Facebook notifications in your email.

One way to avoid losing the messages by accidentally deleting them is to set up an email notification now. Here’s how:

1. Open Facebook in the web browser and select your profile picture in the upper right corner of the screen.

2. Select from the drop-down menu Settings and privacy.

3. Choose now Institutions.

4. Find Notice in the left menu and select it.

5. At the bottom of the Facebook page, under the How you get notifications section, select Email.

6. Check under Email Frequency All notifications, except those you turn off.

Now you will start getting messages in your inbox. You can also get a notification via SMS, and the social media platform will send it to your phone number. Just make sure you don’t delete the notification messages.

6. Back up your messages

To avoid losing Facebook text messages in the future, you can back them up using the account settings. In fact, you should do this regularly so that you can always access your messages, Facebook posts and pictures. It is also a way to get a copy of messages that can be used as legal evidence if needed.

Facebook chat backup is about the “Your Facebook information” feature. You will request the social media platform to send you a download link with all your Facebook information. But you will need to select the date range as well as the file format in which you should receive the copies. You can also choose to download all Facebook information or select a certain type of information, such as messages, photos, or posts.

1. Open Facebook in the web browser and make sure you are signed in.
2. Select your profile picture in the top right corner to open the menu and then go to Settings and privacy.

3. Choose Institutions.

4. Select from the left panel menu Privacy.

5. When the new window opens, select Your Facebook information from the left menu.

6. Select on the main page Download profile informationand choose Regard adjacent.

7. Choose the file options parameters as you like. HTML format is the easiest to open. Choose the date range carefully.

8. Now you can select the type of information you want to download. Make sure you check the box next to it Messages. You can also select all information.

9. Once you have set all the parameters, scroll to the bottom of the page and press the Request a download button.

It will take some time for Facebook to prepare your information for download. But don’t worry, you can go about your day as normal because you’ll receive a notification when the file is ready. Facebook will send you a link that you can use to download a copy of your Facebook information. Keep the backup files in a safe place.

Hopefully, one of the methods above helped you recover your deleted Facebook messages. If not, try contacting Facebook directly; they might be able to help you. Keep in mind that it’s always a good idea to back up your Facebook account data, whether it’s important business transactions or just casual conversations with friends.