As a longtime iPhone user, I’ve accidentally deleted text messages more times than I can count. In the past, that meant those messages were gone forever. But ever since Apple introduced the ability to recover recently deleted texts on iOS 16, I’ve been able to salvage conversations that would have previously disappeared into the digital void.
As someone who frequently leans on text messaging to communicate throughout my busy days, I’m grateful for this handy feature. While I try to be more careful about what I delete nowadays, it’s still nice having that safety net there when my finger gets too tap happy. So here I’ll walk through how I’m able to resurrect deleted messages on my iPhone thanks to this great addition in iOS 16 and later.
Also Read: What Is iPhone White Noise?
How To Check Your Recently Deleted Messages on iPhone
- Open the Messages app.
- Tap Edit in the top left corner.
- Choose Show Recently Deleted.
Alternatively, you can tap Filters instead of Edit, then choose Recently Deleted.
How To Recover Deleted Conversations on iPhone
- You will see a list of your recently deleted conversations. Select any you want to restore.
- Then tap Recover and Recover Messages to restore the texts.
- Time Limit for Message Recovery
Do note the recently deleted message feature only works up to 30 days after deletion. Beyond that time, the messages are permanently erased.
So if you need to retrieve something deleted more than a month ago, you’ll have to look into other options.
If you regularly back up your iPhone to iCloud, you may be able to recover old messages from a backup. Just be aware this will overwrite your current iPhone data.
Third-party iOS data recovery software like Disk Drill and EaseUS also exist, but success is hit or miss. Most paid versions offer the best results.
To avoid relying on deleted message recovery, be sure to regularly backup your iPhone. iCloud and iTunes backups help protect you when text messages disappear.
Wrapping Up
After following the above methods and guide, you should be able to recover deleted texts on your iPhone with ease using the built-in recovery feature. Just act fast if you want those lost messages back! Was it useful? Did you enjoy the post? If so, share your feedback in the comment box.
