Facebook keeps all your deleted data for 90 days. That means you have exactly 90 days to retrieve deleted text messages. After that, the chances you’ll succeed are very slim.

1. Recover Archived Messages

If you’re looking for a conversation in your chat logs, you can easily find it by checking your archived chats.

  1. Open the messaging app and sign in.

  2. Scroll down to the bottom of the main screen and tap on “ Archives”.

  3. Choose which message you want to archive: a new one, an old one, or all of them at once.

  4. Tap on “Archive” and confirm your decision by tapping on “Archive” again.

  5. The message will be archived and you won’t be able to access it anymore!

  6. Open the message in your email program.

  7. Click on the “File” menu and select “Unarchive Message.”

  8. If the message is encrypted, you will be prompted to enter your password to decrypt it.

  9. The message will be unarchived and you can read it or save it to a file. ..

You successfully unarchived the lost conversation. It now appears in your inbox as a regular notification.

2. Ask the Other Person for a Copy

If you can’t find the conversation you thought you deleted, use the search bar and type the name of the person you chatted with.

If you confirm that you deleted the conversation, please ask the other person to send you a copy of their conversation. Deleting a message removes it only from your inbox. The recipient, or the other side of the conversation, should still have it in their inbox. They can easily take a screenshot of the conversation and send it to you or copy the message and paste it as a new one.

3. Check Downloaded Data

If you ever used the Download Your Information Facebook feature, chances are you have the lost conversation saved on your computer. You can find it in a ZIP file named “facebook-yourusername.zip.” When you unzip it, the folder will be named “facebook-yourusername.”

To unzip a file, follow these steps:

  1. Open the file in your computer’s file explorer.
  2. Right-click on the file and select “Extract All.”
  3. Follow the on-screen instructions to unzip the file. ..

Now open the folder your_messages.html in a new window or tab and you will see a collection of messages from your account.

If you want to find a message that was sent to you, you’ll need to use the Download Your Information feature after deleting it. If you used the feature before the conversation took place, it won’t work.

4. Use File Explorer or Connect Your Android Device to Your PC

If you deleted chats from your Android phone, you can try retrieving them with the File Explorer app. However, this won’t work if you recently reformatted your device. ..

If you connect your Android phone to a PC, follow these steps:

  1. Open your phone’s folder, and in the Facebook Data folder, search for “com.facebook.orca.” There, you’ll find the temp file you need.

iOS devices can’t use this little trick to access the temp files. Instead, you’ll have to use data recovery software. There are many data recovery programs out there that can retrieve deleted files such as Facebook chats, posts, photos, and more.

5. Check Your Email

If you can remember some of the content of the message you’re trying to retrieve, you can search for it in your email. Open the email containing the Facebook notification, and the message will be there. Note that this will work only if you chose to receive Facebook notifications in your email. ..

  1. Open the email program you use most often, such as Outlook or Gmail.
  2. Type in the following into the email address bar:
  3. Click on the notification icon to get an email notification when your messages are updated.

You will now start getting messages in your inbox. You can also get a notification by SMS, and the social media platform will send them to your phone number. Just make sure not to delete the notification messages. ..

6. Back-Up Your Messages

To prevent losing Facebook text messages, you can back them up using the account settings. In fact, you should do it periodically so you can always have access to your messages, Facebook posts, and pictures. This is also a way to get a copy of messages that can be used as legal evidence if needed.

Facebook is back up and running, but you may have to choose which information to keep. You can download your Facebook information in three ways: as a text message, as a file on your computer, or as a download link.

Facebook is working to prepare your information for download. You’ll receive a notification when the file is ready. You can continue your day normally, and Facebook will send you a link to download a copy of your Facebook information. Keep the backup files in a safe place. ..

If you deleted your Facebook messages and don’t know how to get them back, try contacting Facebook directly. If that doesn’t work, you can also try backing up your account data. ..