There is a major fear for all those who have been engaged into “dangerous” discussions by using the Facebook Messenger app. Whether you’ve been talking to your ex too much while you’re married, you’ve been flirting with your hot new colleague from work who’s married, or you’ve been planning to conquer other galaxies, here’s the interesting news: deleted messages from Facebook Messenger can indeed be recovered.
However, you must also keep in mind that it’s not always possible to recover Facebook Messenger messages if they’ve been deleted for a long time. No company has the interest in keeping tons of servers full of discussions of users, regardless of how important they might be. We hate to disappoint you, but no major company is interested in your private discussions about how much you hate your neighbor for having a barking dog, regardless of how much you might be into the New World Order conspiracy theories.
There are a few ways to recover your deleted messages from Facebook Messenger. In other words, if you truly want those messages of yours restored, let’s find out how you can do it!
The iOS Messenger data recovery method
If you’ve been using the Facebook Messenger app from an iPhone, follow these simple steps:
- You must open the app itself and head over to the profile image, which is located at the top of the page.
- The next step is to hit the “Account Settings” option, which is located in your profile page that was just accessed by you.
- Once you’re on the account settings page, you’ll need to access the “Download Profile Information” in order to receive a full copy of all your data on Facebook over a certain period. Once you access it, you’ll have to tap the “Messages” sector.
- Usually, all of your Facebook data will be provided to you via email. If you don’t want that, uncheck any of the data you don’t need.
- Hit the “Create File” option from the bottom of the page. You’ll have to be a bit patient until Facebook sends you your requested data via email.
- Congrats, that’s all! Once the file export is completed, you’ll have the chance to explore its content and find the deleted messages that you’ve been looking for, if they’re still there.
How to recover messages using the browser method
If you’re not a fan of the Facebook app or you’re just reticent when it comes to installing anything on your smartphone or laptop, first of all, there’s nothing to blame. That’s why you can also use your browser to try to recover your deleted messages from Facebook Messenger. Here’s how:
- Open Chrome, Mozilla, Edge, or whatever browser you’re using and head over to facebook.com.
- Find the down arrow in the top right corner, tap on it, and select “Settings and Privacy.”
- Once you access the area, hit the ‘Settings’ option, which you’ll find at the top.
- From the next window and the right hand side, tap the “Privacy” option.
- Once you’re in the Privacy area, you’ll find “Your Facebook Information.” Don’t hesitate to select it.
- On the section known as “Download Profile Informaiton,” you can select the “View” from the right-hand side.
- Hit the “Messages” option.
- Once you select everything you need, hit the “Create File” option.
- Wait for Facebook to give you the download file that you can further explore in order to try to find your deleted messages.
However, if none of the methods work in your case, you also have to check if your messages have been mistakenly moved to the Facebook Messenger app’s message archive. If so, it doesn’t mean that your messages have been fully deleted, and recovering them will be extremely easy.
Tim M. Hill helped bring Digital-Overload from a weekly newsletter to a full-fledged news site by creating a new website and branding. He continues to assist in keeping the site responsive and well organized for the readers. As a writer to Digital-Overload, Tim mainly covers mobile news and gadgets.
