If you’ve deleted messages from your iPhone and later decide that you want them back, there are several ways you can try to recover them. This applies to both regular SMS messages, which are sent through your mobile carrier, and iMessages, which are sent over the internet and appear in the Messages app.
The easiest way to recover deleted messages is to use the “Recently Deleted” folder. There is one important catch, though: deleted messages are moved to this folder and kept there for 30 days. After 30 days, they are automatically and permanently deleted. Also, if you manually delete a message from the “Recently Deleted” folder, it cannot be recovered.
There is another option, although it probably won’t be useful for most people: restoring your messages from an iCloud backup. To be honest, I don’t know many people who regularly back up their data these days.
Check the Recently Deleted folder (iOS 16 and newer)
If you have iOS 16 or newer on your iPhone, you have access to the Recently Deleted folder in the Messages app. Deleted messages are stored here for 30 days.
Open the Messages app.
In the upper left corner, tap on “Filters.”
Select “Recently Deleted.”
Find the messages you want.
Select the messages you want to restore and tap “Restore”, then confirm the action.
Note: Messages that were deleted more than 30 days ago will be automatically deleted from this folder.
This is the easiest way to find a recently deleted message.
How to retrieve deleted messages via the iCloud recovery
If you regularly back up your iPhone to iCloud, you can restore your messages by reverting to a previous backup.
- Open Settings > Your Name > iCloud >iCloud Backup.
- Check the date of your most recent backup to ensure it contains the deleted messages.
- Before proceeding, back up any new data to avoid losing it.
- Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to set up your device and select Restore from iCloud Backup.
Warning: Restoring from an iCloud backup replaces your current data with the contents of the backup. This method is rather inconvenient, so you’ll have to do everything twice: roll back to the old version and then go back to the latest version so you don’t lose the latest data.
Restore from a computer backup (iTunes or Finder)
If you have backed up iPhone to your computer, you can restore messages from that backup. But honestly I don’t even know people who back up their iPhone. But if you have such a backup, then restore the old version of your phone.
Connect your iPhone to your computer with a cable.
Open Finder (macOS Catalina or later) or iTunes (Windows or macOS Mojave or earlier).
Select your device and click “Restore Backup.”
Select the backup containing the deleted messages and click “Restore”.
