Deleted an important chat on Facebook Messenger? Don’t panic—there are ways to recover lost or deleted Facebook messages. Whether you accidentally archived a chat or wiped it from your device, this guide shows you how to retrieve them easily.
📁 Method 1: Check Archived Messages
- Open Messenger app or go to Messenger.com.
- Tap your profile picture > Archived Chats.
- If your message was archived (not deleted), it will appear here.
📥 Method 2: Download Facebook Data
- Go to Facebook Settings > Your Information > Download Your Information.
- Select “Messages” and request the data in HTML or JSON format.
- Once downloaded, open the file and look through past conversations.
- This may contain messages that aren’t visible in your current inbox.
📱 Method 3: Search Device Storage (Android Only)
- Navigate to
File Manager > Internal Storage > Android > data > com.facebook.orca > cache. - Look inside “fb_temp” folder—sometimes deleted messages are temporarily cached here.
- This only works if you haven’t cleared app data.
⚠️ What You Can’t Recover
- Messages you manually deleted (not archived) are permanently removed from your side.
- Only the other person in the chat may still have a copy of those messages.
- Facebook does not offer a "trash" or recovery tool for permanently deleted chats.
✅ Pro Tip
Next time, use the “Archive” option instead of “Delete” to hide chats without losing them forever.
Note: If the chat is important (e.g., legal or business), ask the other person to send a screenshot or forward the conversation back to you.