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How to see deleted messages on Facebook Messenger

Reviewed By: Kevin Pocock

Last Updated on July 15, 2024
How to see deleted messages on Facebook Messenger
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There is no doubt that Facebook will continue to dominate the social media setting for years to come. The motivation behind their most recent achievement is the metaverse. While their current progress is impressive, we cannot forget about one of their first apps – Messenger.

Even though they are a major name in this industry, Facebook does not offer a recovery option and accidentally deleting messages through Messenger can feel stressful. You may quickly and simply recover the deleted messages in Facebook Messenger by following the instructions in this article.

Now Read: How Do I Change My Password On Facebook

1

Check your Archived Chats

Since Facebook always saves a copy of your archived chats, if you archived the messages rather than deleting them, you can easily restore them.

Step

1

Open Messenger

Launch the desktop, browser, or mobile version of Messenger.

Step

2

App Conversation

In the search bar located in the app’s conversations area, type the person’s name that you were speaking with.

Step

3

Tap on name

After that, just click or tap on their name to view the entire discussion and open it

Step

4

Screenshot the conversation

Ask the recipient for a screenshot of the conversation if only you have deleted the message you are trying to recover. 

The person you’re speaking to will still be able to see it, so if they didn’t delete it on their end as well, they could assist you in filling in the blanks.

2

Check your Downloaded Data

On your computer, look for the downloaded data. Have you ever downloaded your personal information from Facebook to your computer using the “Download Your Information” feature? If so, copies of your emails are probably stored in the archive. 

Facebook-yourusername.zip is the name of the downloaded ZIP file; however, after unzipping it, you’ll find a folder with the same name. Downloading your archive now won’t work because a new archive won’t have the erased message. However, if you downloaded your data before deleting the message, you will at least have a record of the exchange up until the point at which it was removed.

Access the downloaded data by following these steps:

Step

1

Open the file

Double-click the file that ends in “.zip” and starts with “Facebook.”

Step

2

Select Extract All

At the top, select “Extract all”

Step

3

Extract the files

Click “Extract” after making sure the “Show extracted files” box is checked.

Step

4

Double click “your messages”

Double-click the “your_messages.html” file to launch your web browser and view the messages.

Step

5

Double click messages folder

Double-click the “messages” folder and select “your_messages.html file”. As soon as the file opens, click on the conversation you are looking for.

You can also check if Facebook Messages were sent to your Email. This only functions if your account’s email notifications are all turned on. You should be able to look for the chat or message in your email account if it is enabled.

3

Download Data from Facebook Setting

Facebook’s “Download Your Information” tool allows you to download your data. You can access your data in a ZIP file using this option. Depending on when the file was generated, it will have the deleted Messenger message.

Step

1

Open Facebook account

On your Facebook homepage, click your Account symbol in the top right corner.

Step

2

Select Settings and Privacy

On the drop-down list that appears, select Settings & privacy and look for the “Settings” tab from the list you see next.

Step

3

Download your information

On the “Settings” page, in the left panel, select Your Facebook information and press on the “View” option next to the “Download Your Information” button.

Step

4

HTML file format

A lengthy array of data will be displayed; you can deselect the items you do not need. Choose the HTML file format and desired media quality, then choose a range.

Step

5

Request a download

Click on the “Request a download” option at the bottom of the page and confirm the download request by clicking on “Create File”.

Step

6

Available files

Next to “Available files”, click it at the top of the screen and download all the information there. All that is left to do is unpack/unzip the file on your computer, then search for your lost messages.

4

Use Android File Manager

The erased messages can still be on your smartphone if you have Messenger installed and are using an Android device. Any Android file manager can be used to access it, and if you don’t already have one installed, you can discover a lot of them on the Google store.

Step

1

Android file manager

Open the Android device’s file manager app.

Step

2

Open internal storage

Open Internal Storage and go to com.facebook.katana > fb temp.

Step

3

Deleted emails

You can hopefully find your deleted emails in this section of your recent history of communications.

5

Create a Backup for Future

Back up your Facebook messages to avoid this happening again. For example, you can achieve this by turning on your email notifications. To do this, follow the procedures below:

 

Step

1

Open Facebook

On your PC, open Facebook and click the down arrow in the top right corner of the screen.

Step

2

Settings and Privacy

Select Settings & privacy, then select Settings once more.

Step

3

Notifications

On the left menu, scroll to the bottom until you see Notifications, then click on it.

Step

4

Click onto Emails

Click Email when you’ve scrolled to the bottom of the page.

Step

5

Select all notifications

Select all notifications, excluding those that you have disabled. This guarantees that the messages will eventually end up in your inbox.

Conclusion

Even though Facebook Messenger is a native tool, its importance cannot be denied. As a result, the user may find it frustrating to delete a message from the program. The texting application is used to share gigabytes of crucial data. Users must therefore understand how to view deleted communications on Messenger.

This article has identified some of the ways you can recover messages. Remember to be careful next time you delete a message. We recommend archiving chats instead of deleting the entire thing. 

Si Yan contributed to PC Guide in 2022 and supported with content creation. Previously working at a major electronics company, she brought her knowledge of consumer tech to the site.