Having your messages suddenly disappear in Messenger can be frustrating. Thankfully, there are a few ways you may be able to recover your disappeared messages.
Why Did My Messages Disappear?
There are a few common reasons why you may find your messages have disappeared in Messenger:
- You accidentally deleted the message thread
- Your message recipient deleted the message thread
- There was a glitch and the messages failed to send or got deleted
- Your account was hacked and the messages were deleted
- Facebook performed maintenance on Messenger and some messages were lost
So before trying to recover your disappeared messages, first try to determine why they may have vanished. This can help you pinpoint the right recovery method.
Recover Accidentally Deleted Message Threads
If you’re sure you accidentally deleted a message thread in Messenger, don’t panic! The thread may still be recoverable from your Trash folder for up to 30 days.
Here’s how to find and restore deleted Messenger threads on mobile:
- Open the Messenger app and tap on your profile photo in the top left
- Go to the Trash folder
- If the deleted thread is still there, tap and hold to select it
- Tap “Restore” to put the thread back in your inbox
And on desktop:
- Go to www.messenger.com in your browser
- Click your profile photo in the top left and select “Trash”
- Select the message thread you want to restore
- Click “Restore” to return the thread to your inbox
This should recover any messages you accidentally deleted within the last 30 days. But if the time limit has passed, the thread and messages are likely gone for good unfortunately.
Ask the Recipient to Forward the Conversation
If your recipient still has access to the messages, you can ask them nicely to forward the conversation back to you. This allows you to regain a copy of the messages.
Simply send them a new message in Messenger explaining that you lost your copy of the conversation due to an accidental deletion. Request that they forward the messages back to you so you can have a record again.
If you’ve lost a very long or important conversation, offer to reimburse your recipient for their time if it’s going to take a while to re-forward all the messages back to you.
Use a Messenger Recovery Tool
There are third party apps and tools that claim they can recover deleted Messenger messages for you. Two popular options are:
- FoneDog Toolkit-iOS – Claims to be able to scan your device and restore Messenger history.
- Dr.Fone – A data recovery app that says it can find deleted Messenger messages on your phone or computer.
However, be very cautious using third party data recovery apps. Make sure to research the company and app thoroughly before downloading to ensure they are legitimate and trustworthy.
Also, these tools may only work if the messages were accidentally deleted very recently. Long deleted conversations are less likely to be recoverable.
Contact Facebook Support
If you believe there was a glitch or hack that caused your Messenger messages to disappear, consider reaching out to Facebook support.
Go to Facebook’s Help Center and either:
- Search for “missing messages” and go through the troubleshooting steps
- Select “Contact Us” to request live support
When speaking with a Facebook rep, be ready to provide details like:
- When you noticed the messages disappeared
- Who you were conversing with in the missing thread
- What you think may have caused the messages to vanish
The Facebook team may be able to look into what happened on the back end and potentially restore your messages if it was due to a technical issue.
Prevent Disappeared Messages in the Future
To avoid this headache in the future, be sure you regularly back up your Messenger conversations.
On iOS devices, you can enable auto-backups to iCloud. Messenger should save your message history there automatically.
You can also manually export Messenger conversations by:
- Opening the app and selecting a conversation
- Tap the contact name at the top
- Scroll down and select “Export Chat”
- Choose to export the attachment via email or other method
Be sure to export and backup your Messenger threads regularly in case messages ever disappear again.
| Method | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Check Trash folder | – Quick and easy to try – Restores full conversation |
– Only works if deleted within 30 days |
| Ask recipient to forward | – Retrieves a copy of the messages | – Inconvenient for the recipient – May be missing messages if recipient doesn’t forward all |
| Use recovery app | – Automates recovery process | – Risky to download third party apps – Questionable effectiveness |
| Contact Facebook | – May fully restore conversation | – Not guaranteed to work – Slow response time |
Conclusion
Having your Messenger messages mysteriously disappear can certainly be annoying. But in many cases, there are ways to try and recover them.
First, determine why the messages likely vanished – was it an accidental deletion or technical glitch? Then, try restoring from your Trash folder, asking the recipient for a copy, using a recovery app, or contacting Facebook support.
To avoid this issue in the future, be diligent about backing up your Messenger threads. Enable auto-backups or manually export conversations regularly so you always have a copy.
With a few proactive steps, you can minimize the chances of losing your Messenger history and feel confident you can restore it if messages ever do disappear.