Instant messaging (IM) predates the in ternet, yes! You heard that right. In the 1990s, the concept of instant messaging entered the mainstream, allowing friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and like-minded people all around the world to connect in real-time.
The instant messaging apps market has expanded over the years and is still expanding to reach new heights. We now have instant messaging programs like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, Skype, Telegram, LINE, WeChat, iMessage, and the list goes on.
Since their inception, instant messaging apps have revolutionized the ways we communicate. Today, billions of people are signed up for at least one messaging app. For instance, WhatsApp has over 2 billion, and Facebook Messenger has 988 million monthly active users worldwide. The present IM experience is seamless, and it intuitively integrates features like videos, photos, voice notes, e-commerce, audio/video calls, and many other features.
You never get used to the gut-wrenching feeling of losing an important chat or text message. What do you do now? Desperate users will do anything to length to save those valuable messages. Tracking social media chats after it has been removed is a difficult task, but jumping through certain hoops will get you there. There is a chance you can obtain those important text messages back, and we can assist you in doing so!
How does Message Deletion and Storage Works?
You may have heard that when you delete files, they do not necessarily disappear from your computer. That is correct! All of those erased files are still on the hard disk, waiting to be recovered or replaced. This is exactly what happens with both Android and iPhone. Everything we remove, including instant messages and texts, remains until enough time has passed or enough space is required to keep other data.
You may still be wondering how this is even feasible. Once we understand how deletion works, it is not a difficult idea to grasp. In most circumstances, trashing a file (in this case, IM app messages) does not delete it from the system, or does not do so immediately.
This file will be marked as inactive by your device. In other words, it has been rendered invisible and replaceable. The “deleted” content is progressively replaced as you continue to use your device and add new files. In other words, if you need to recover that text message, you should stop using your phone or it may get permanently erased after some time.
It will be difficult, but difficult does not mean impossible. It’s worth attempting to recover the messages, or at least as many of them as possible.
3 Tricks to Recover Deleted Messages
Whether or not you created a backup of your phone before losing your texts, instant messaging apps have their independent backups. When you install a messaging app, you’ll be given the option to schedule backups on a “daily, weekly, or never” basis.
These files are converted into a folder and saved to your device in the backup section of the app files. If you accidentally erase your messages, you can recover them by reinstalling the app. When you first launch the program, it will prompt you to restore your data from the backup. Simply choose that option to recover previous chats and media files.
If the app does not create any backup files, you have two options for performing a recovery.
1. Restoring Previous Backup
If your Android phone has Google Drive backups enabled, you can restore your backup to recover your deleted text messages.
To start the reset process:
- Go to Settings on your phone.
- In the Settings menu, look for the System tab.
- Tap Reset Options on the System screen.
- On the Reset Options screen, tap Erase All Data (Factory Reset).
To finish resetting your phone, follow the on-screen instructions. After that, you may begin setting up your phone from scratch.
When your phone prompts you to sign in with a Google account, select the one you used to back up your phone. You will now have access to your Google Drive backup.
Then, select the option to restore your data from a backup, Google Drive backup, and the “SMS Messages” option.
Your phone will begin to load the contents of your backup, and once completed, you should see all of your messages restored on your phone.
2. Recover Using iCloud
If your iPhone is set to backup to iCloud, you may be able to retrieve deleted text messages by utilizing a recent backup. This will restore your iPhone to the point where you made the backup, which means that while it may help you retrieve the text messages, you may lose some other data.
To start the process:
- Open the Settings menu on your iPhone or iPad.
- Select iCloud, and make sure that Messages and IM apps are turned on in the list of apps.
- Tap iCloud Backup, Check that your iPhone has been backed up recently.
- Go back to the main Settings app menu and select General, then scroll down and select Reset or Transfer or Reset iPhone, depending on what iOS version you have.
- Tap Erase ALL Content and Settings, then confirm that it’s what you want to do. You’ll likely have to provide your iCloud password to turn off Find My iPhone.
- It will take a few minutes for your iPhone to reset to factory settings. Following that, you’ll see the iPhone’s initial welcome screen. Go through the first few steps, and on the Apps & Data screen, choose Restore from iCloud Backup.
- Sign in to iCloud to access your backups, then choose the last backup before you deleted the text messages you want to recover.
3. Use a Data Recovery Software
As it turns out, there are numerous platforms available that save your data for a set amount of time. This may be useful to you in storing data of any form, such as messages, images, movies, and so on, and allowing you to easily retrieve it before it gets removed automatically.
A simple Google search will show you a variety of mobile phone tracking applications that will allow you to continue tracking social media chats even after you delete them from your device. Some are free, while others are not, but when it comes to the security of your personal information and data, choose the one that is more credible.
These monitoring apps enable you to maintain a record of your data, including deleted messages, movies, images, contacts, and much more. Whether you delete your messages by accident or on purpose, these applications preserve a duplicate and save it for future use.
However, after 30 days, the backup data will vanish, and you will be unable to recover it. The best way to preserve it is to transfer it to your device or put it on the Cloud or Google Drive for later use.
And the utility of these apps does not end here. Finding a lost Android phone using a cell phone monitoring app, remotely locking the phone, shutting it down or wiping the data off the stolen or lost device are some of the other features that can come in handy in times of distress.
Final Take Away
So, if you are dealing with such a problem and trying to recover lost messages, the above-mentioned tactics can be potential solutions to the problem. Hope you find these helpful, and if you have any queries, feel free to ask in the comments below.