How to Recover Deleted Facebook Messenger Messages on iPhone

Accidentally deleted messages on Facebook Messenger? Learn the different methods on how to recover deleted messages on Facebook Messenger in this new article.

You can only get them back if you have set or create a phone backup, but what if, you did not? Don’t worry; we got you covered today. We will show you some of the effective methods on how to retrieve deleted messages in Messenger in 4 ways.

Part 1. How Retrieve Deleted Messages in MessengerPart 2. How to Recover Deleted Messages on Facebook Messenger Without BackupPart 3. Summary

Part 1. How Retrieve Deleted Messages in Messenger

If you have only deleted the conversation on your end, there is a great chance that the person you were talking with still has the copy of your messages. You can basically ask the person forward your conversations or they can send a screenshot and send you the photo.

Apart from this, you might have also archived the thread and not totally delete them. Using a computer or your Messenger phone app, you can do the following:

1. How to Recover Archived Messages on Messenger

To recover archived messages on the Messenger app, follow the steps:

1. Open the Messenger app on the iPhone.
2. Tap the three-line icon from the top.
3. Tap "Archive".
4. Find the conversation you are looking for and tap on it, then you will find the deleted messages you need.
6. If you want to unarchive the conversation, simply return to the list, swipe left on the chat, and then tap "Unarchive".

To retrieve archived messages on a desktop, here is what to do:

1. On your desktop, go to the Messenger website or open the Messenger app.
2. Click the three-dot icon at the top left and click on "Archived chats". Then you will see all the archived chats.
3. Click the conversation you need and find the deleted messages.
4. If you want to unarchive the chat, hover your mouse over the chat and click the three horizontal dots, then choose "Unarchive Chat".

That’s all you need to do and the archived messages will appear on the inbox list of your messenger.

2. Retrieve Deleted Messenger Messages via Email Notifications

One more way to retrieve the deleted messages from your Messenger is via email notifications. Facebook actually has an option to send you an email notification whenever someone inboxes you.

If you have turned this option on, you will still have copies of the conversations you have deleted. Here is a guide on how to recover deleted messages on Facebook Messenger via Email Notifications:

1. Open the Facebook website on your computer and click the drop-down arrow in the upper right corner of the page.
2. Click Settings and go to Notifications
3. Scroll down and find Email, expand to view other options
4. Make sure that the option "All notifications, except the ones you unsubscribe from" are ticked. This confirms that your messages are backed up via email
5. Once you have confirmed this setting, open the email linked to your Facebook account and search for the specific conversations.

Note: This option only applies when you haven’t deleted the email notifications that Facebook sends you.

3. Recover by Downloading Facebook Data

Big Brother Watch reported that Facebook stores your messages in the archive and saves it on your Facebook Data for an unspecified time. It said that all private messages are kept until all parties have deleted them, so you have a big chance of retrieval if the recipient of your message hasn’t deleted your conversation yet.

Here is how download the Facebook data on your iPhone or PC:

1. Go to the Settings page of your Facebook account.
2. Click on"Your Facebook Information" from the left menu
3. Choose "Download Your Information" and click "View"
4. Select the file format of the data to be downloaded as well as the date range
5. Verify that Messages are checked among the data to be downloaded
6. Click "Create File" to begin downloading. You might need to re-enter your password
7. Your Facebook data will be sent over via email

Part 2. How to Recover Deleted Messages on Facebook Messenger Without Backup

Smartphone experts say that app messages are not permanently deleted from the phone but rather transferred into another folder. However, you cannot open this folder or find it anywhere on your phone unless you use a third-party tool.

This is where data recovery programs take over. These programs have capabilities to retrieve all the files from the phone as long as they were not overwritten.

Many data recovery programs promise such things but a few really stands for its name. One of the most efficient data recovery programs out in the market is FoneDog iOS Data Recovery.

FoneDog iOS Data Recovery is a toolkit with three different recovery methods.

• Recover from Device (without backup)
• Recover from iTunes Backup
• And Recover from iCloud Backup

This program recovers data from any of these situations:

• Broken screen
• Water Damaged devices
• Accidentally deleted
• System Errors
• Lost Phone
• And factory reset devices

Free DownloadFree Download

Follow this guide on how to recover deleted messages on Facebook Messenger without backup:

1. Launch this software and plug in your iPhone via USB cable
2. Select "Recover from iOS Device" on the left pane
3. Click the "Start Scan" button. Scanning takes a while depending on a load of data stored in the phone
4. Preview all the scanned results. You can filter by using the categories listed on the left toolbar. For this example, go to "Messages" and then mark the box for "Messenger" and "Messenger attachments"
5. Mark those deleted messages and click "Recover". The recovered messages will be saved on the computer.

If you have noticed, it has other 2 recovery methods, recover from iTunes and iCloud. The steps are almost similar except that it will scan from your backup files. For iCloud, you don’t have to connect the iPhone to the computer, you just log in to iCloud using the same Apple ID.

All three methods allow selective recovery and preview. You can easily retrieve deleted messages in Messenger.

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Part 3. Summary

We have just learned how to recover deleted messages on Facebook Messenger using several methods. Among these, the most effective method is via FoneDog iOS Data Recovery where you can easily retrieve deleted conversations even without backup.

Now, you don’t have to worry even if you have accidentally deleted a message thread because you can get them back using this third party tool. Other options included un-archiving, email notifications, and downloading Facebook data.

Free DownloadFree Download

We hope that this article has helped you retrieve your precious Messenger threads back so you can use them in whatever purpose you have.

Have you tried to retrieve deleted messages in Messenger? What steps did you take?