How to recover deleted text messages on iPhone
Since iOS 16, deleted messages wait 30 to 40 days in a Recently Deleted folder. After that, a backup or another device is your best chance.
Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash
Deleted a conversation by accident? Do not panic, and do not start deleting other things to make space. On any iPhone with iOS 16 or later, deleted messages are not gone straight away; they move to a Recently Deleted folder for at least 30 days. Start there. If that does not work, the methods further down cover every other realistic option, and what does not work, so you do not waste money.
How to recover deleted text messages on iPhone
The fix
Recover from Recently Deleted (within 30 to 40 days)
- 1
Open the Messages app and go to the conversation list.
If a conversation is open, tap the back arrow first.
- 2
Open Recently Deleted.
On iOS 26 and 27, and on iOS 16 and 17, tap Filters at the top, then Recently Deleted. On iOS 18, tap Edit, then Show Recently Deleted. If you do not see it, nothing has been deleted in the last 30 days.
- 3
Select the conversations you want back.
Each one shows how many days are left before it is removed for good.
- 4
Tap Recover, then Recover Messages.
The conversations return to your list with every message and attachment. If Messages in iCloud is on, they reappear on your other devices too.
After 30 days: your other options
The fix
Try these in order
- 1
Check your iPad or Mac.
If Messages in iCloud is off, each device keeps its own copy, so an iPad or Mac may still have the conversation. Turn off its Wi-Fi first, so it cannot sync the deletion, then screenshot or copy what you need.
- 2
Restore a computer backup.
If you back up to a Mac or PC, a backup made before the deletion contains the messages. Restoring replaces everything on the iPhone with that backup, so back up the iPhone as it is now first. See how to restore from an older backup.
- 3
Restore an iCloud backup, but only if Messages in iCloud was off.
Apple says that when Messages in iCloud is on, messages are synced to iCloud instead of being included in iCloud Backup. In that case, restoring an iCloud backup will not bring deleted messages back.
- 4
Ask the other person.
They still have their copy of the conversation and can screenshot it or forward the messages, photos and links you need. For a group chat, anyone else in the group has a full copy too, so ask whoever is easiest to reach.
Before you restore an older backup
- Check the backup date. In Settings › your name › iCloud › Manage Storage › Backups, or in Finder on a Mac, make sure it is from before you deleted the messages.
- Make a fresh backup of the iPhone as it is now, so you can return to it if the old one does not help.
- Expect to lose anything newer than the old backup: new photos, messages and app data. Save what you need first.
- Allow an hour or more. Restoring erases the iPhone, then downloads apps and data again.
Looking for a deleted photo from a text?
If you saved the photo from Messages at any point, it is in the Photos app, and deleted photos have their own Recently Deleted album under Utilities. If the conversation is still there, open it, tap the person’s name at the top and scroll to Photos to see every picture shared in that chat. See our guide to recovering deleted photos on iPhone.
Why deleted messages vanish from every device
With Messages in iCloud turned on in Settings › your name › iCloud, your messages are stored in iCloud and kept the same on every device. That is convenient, but it also means a deletion on your iPhone removes the message from your iPad and Mac too, and after the Recently Deleted period it is gone from iCloud as well. Messages in iCloud is syncing, not a backup.
Can I see my messages on iCloud.com?
No. Even with Messages in iCloud on, iCloud.com has no Messages app, so you cannot read or recover texts from a web browser. Messages in iCloud only shows up inside the Messages app on an iPhone, iPad or Mac signed in to your Apple Account. To see them on a computer, use a Mac.
Lost messages after a reset or a new iPhone
If your texts disappeared after setting up a new iPhone or erasing your old one, they may not be deleted at all. Check these first:
- Messages in iCloud: go to Settings › your name › iCloud and turn on Messages. On a new iPhone, it can take hours to download years of messages, so leave it on Wi-Fi and a charger overnight.
- The right Apple Account: messages sync only to the account they were saved in. Check the email under your name at the top of Settings.
- The backup you chose: if you restored from a backup, pick the most recent one from before the problem. Setting up as new brings nothing back.
- Keep your old iPhone untouched until you are sure everything came across.
Undo Send is not the same as recovery
On iOS 16 and later, you can unsend an iMessage within 2 minutes by touching and holding it and choosing Undo Send. That removes it for both of you if the other person also uses a recent iOS version. It cannot bring back a message someone else unsent, and it does not work for green SMS texts. If a message disappeared from a chat and a note says it was unsent, it cannot be recovered on your side.
What about recovery software?
Many apps advertise that they can recover deleted iPhone messages. In practice, most of them read messages out of an existing iPhone backup on your computer or in iCloud. That can be useful if you want to pull one conversation out of an old backup without restoring the whole phone. But if the messages are not in any backup or on any device, no app can reliably bring them back from a modern iPhone, because iOS encrypts and overwrites deleted data. Be careful with tools that ask for payment before showing you any results.
Recently Deleted is empty?
- The messages were deleted more than 30 to 40 days ago and have been removed.
- Someone emptied the folder, or chose Delete instead of Recover inside it.
- Keep Messages removed them automatically. Messages deleted this way do not always go to Recently Deleted.
- The iPhone was erased or set up as new, which clears the folder.
Deleted WhatsApp messages are different
WhatsApp does not use the Messages app’s Recently Deleted folder. Its chats can only be recovered from a WhatsApp chat backup in iCloud, by deleting and reinstalling WhatsApp and choosing Restore Chat History. Messages sent after the last backup are lost. Check the backup date in WhatsApp › Settings › Chats › Chat Backup before you reinstall.
How to never lose texts again
- Set Settings › Apps › Messages › Keep Messages to Forever. If it is set to 30 Days or 1 Year, older messages are deleted automatically.
- Turn on iCloud Backup, or back up to a computer regularly, so there is always a recent copy.
- For messages that matter, such as receipts, legal or medical conversations, take screenshots or forward them to your email.
- Pin important conversations so they stay at the top of the list and are harder to delete by mistake.
Frequently asked questions
How long can I recover deleted messages?
Apple keeps deleted messages in Recently Deleted for 30 to 40 days on iOS 16 and later. After that, they are removed from the iPhone and from Messages in iCloud.
Can my carrier give me deleted texts?
Usually not. US carriers keep records of when texts were sent and to which number, not their contents, and iMessages never pass through the carrier at all.
Can I recover deleted messages without a backup?
Only from Recently Deleted, another device that still has them, or the other person’s phone. Without those, there is no reliable way to get them back.
Do recovery apps really work?
Most of them read messages from an existing iPhone backup, which you can also restore yourself for free. None can reliably bring back messages that are no longer in a backup or on a device.
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