How To Recover Deleted Conversations And Messages On WhatsApp

Even though WhatsApp messages are deleted, they always leave a trace that allows them to be recovered on many occasions. It is best to use an app that allows such retrieval, but they can also be read using the ‘Notification History’ feature of some Androids. Do you want to know how to view deleted WhatsApp messages?

The deletion of WhatsApp messages leaves a trace in the conversation since the alert appears that said messages were deleted, an alert that not only leaves evidence but also a lot of curiosity. That is why the curiosity to know what they said is logical, an option that WhatsApp does not allow and that is possible by performing some ‘tricks’. Of course, remember that the other person will have their reasons for having deleted the conversation and it may not be convenient for you to know them. Act under your responsibility.

When can you recover deleted WhatsApp messages?

In official terms, WhatsApp does not allow the recovery of deleted messages since, once the user deletes them, they disappear from the mobile that received them and from the one that sent them without leaving a trace on the company’s servers (WhatsApp does not store messages).

The impossibility of bringing messages back has its vulnerabilities in notifications: since all messages notify the user with their content, it is enough to register these notifications to read the messages even if they are deleted.

The way the notification system works is different on Android and iOS: this is what you should consider before considering recovering deleted WhatsApp messages:

  • On iPhone, it is difficult to recover messages, although it can be done with the backup if certain circumstances occur (we will explain it to you at the end).
  • On Android, messages can be retrieved using the content of notifications. This has a counterpart: if you were in the conversation when the message was deleted, you will no longer be able to access the content because a notification was not generated.
  • It is only possible to retrieve the first 100 characters of the message (notification limit, on Android).
  • Multimedia content (photos, videos, and audio) cannot always be recovered.

The easiest thing to recover WhatsApp conversations: install an app on Android

The easiest thing to recover WhatsApp conversations install an app on Android

As we explained before, all WhatsApp messages that are received without having the application open (and from a chat other than the one we are reading) generate a notification. If an application is installed that saves all the notifications generated by WhatsApp, it will be possible to read what the messages said even if they are subsequently deleted. It is a kind of backup.

Several applications are dedicated to recovering deleted WhatsApp messages. They don’t involve too much mystery since, in general, they are dedicated to monitoring notifications, saving only those sent by WhatsApp. Of course, always with a risk: privacy. All these apps save the private information that comes in the notifications, such as the name of the contacts and their phone number. Use them with great caution.

Here are some apps to recover deleted WhatsApp messages on Android. Don’t abuse permissions, but remember the privacy warnings.

  • WAMR. It is a very good application that allows you to recover deleted text conversations and even multimedia content. All you have to do is install it, and permit it to access notifications and it will take care of saving the content of the notifications so that you can read the messages that are deleted from WhatsApp. You can download the app from here.
  • WhatsRemoved+. Like the previous one, this app records everything that is said on WhatsApp (and other messaging applications) whenever the messages generate a notification: if you have WhatsApp open, and you are reading the conversation in which the message has been deleted, you will not have access to its content. You can download it from this link on Google Play.

This type of application does not recover deleted messages if they were deleted before you installed any of the recovery apps. You can only anticipate: that once you install any of our two suggestions, you will already be able to read the messages that are deleted.

Access notification history on Android

Apps that record each notification save the content that accompanies the notifications, but that’s something the system already does on its own: that feature is called notification history. Unfortunately, not all manufacturers use it, nor is it available on all mobiles. Android 11 (and Android 12 ) brings the feature available in system settings, accessing from the rest is not guaranteed.

Notifications are the best way to recover deleted messages since, as we have highlighted, they show the original content at the time it arrived on the phone. In the previous step, we saw some apps that log the notifications of the phone, but it is possible to access the notification log without any app. It is not valid for all Androids, it may be that the manufacturer of your phone has blocked this possibility.

How to read said notification history if your mobile has it available? Try to do the following:

  • Long press on your phone desktop and add a widget.
  • Locate the ‘Settings’ widget ( remember you may not have it available ).
  • Add the Settings widget to the desktop and select ‘ Notification log ‘. The specific title may vary depending on the device, it may also be that the possibility does not appear. It all depends on the mobile and the brand.
  • If the widget does not appear, you can avoid the inconvenience by downloading Nova Launcher. Install it and run the above process by adding the settings widget to the desktop (with the notification log selected).

Once you have created the widget you have to click on it (it is an icon on the desktop) to access the notification history. Search for the WhatsApp messages that you have received and locate those that have been deleted: this way you will have access to the recovery of their text. It’s a bit awkward since the notification log saves all the event code and not just the message text (it’s in the ‘android.text’ string), but you just need a little patience to read it.

The notification history saves all the alerts that the Android device has been receiving

As is often the case, there are some drawbacks to this method aside from not being present on all devices:

  • You can only retrieve messages that you have previously read and that generated a notification. If the person deletes the messages, and you later access their notification from the record, you will only see ‘This message was deleted.
  • It is only valid for texts. In the case of multimedia content, only the type of file that was sent is recorded.
  • Android renews the notification log, so you need to hurry to access deleted WhatsApp messages before the history is updated.

Recover deleted WhatsApp messages with backup

The backup allows you to recover deleted messages as long as they happen to be deleted after the backup. It is very complicated to make it work and you have to act in anticipation, but it is still valid, both on Android and iPhone. Of course, you can lose many other messages along the way, so it is not worth it.

Imagine that you have a conversation with a person and you sense that he is going to delete it. You can operate in the following way:

  • Make a backup of WhatsApp by going to the application settings. Make sure the backup is done only on the phone and not on Drive/iCloud.
  • If you detect that the other person deleted messages, you must uninstall WhatsApp from your mobile and start the account again, restoring the last backup. Deleted conversations should still be visible, but this doesn’t always work.
  • With this process, you can read the deleted messages as long as they were visible before making the backup. Of course, you can lose the rest of the conversations received between the backup and the subsequent restoration.

This process is quite cumbersome and it has to happen that someone deletes the messages that you had previously saved in the WhatsApp copy, but it can help you. And it is valid for both Android and iPhone.