Can I recover deleted iMessages?
Yes, it is possible to recover deleted iMessages in many cases. iMessages are stored in the iCloud backup of your iPhone, so you may be able to restore deleted iMessages from a backup. There are also third party apps that can recover deleted iMessages from your iPhone directly. With the right tools, there is a good chance of getting back lost iMessages.
How are iMessages stored on my iPhone?
iMessages are stored in an SQLite database on your iPhone located at /var/mobile/Library/SMS/sms.db. This database contains all your iMessages, SMS text messages, MMS messages, and attachments.
When you delete an iMessage on your iPhone, it is simply marked as “deleted” in the database but the content remains until it is overwritten by new data. So in many cases, the deleted iMessages are still intact on your phone and recoverable.
Will iCloud backup help restore deleted iMessages?
Yes, if you have iCloud backups enabled, you can potentially restore deleted iMessages from a backup. iCloud automatically backs up your iPhone daily when connected to power, WiFi, and has over 50% battery.
iCloud backups include a copy of your iMessage database, so any iMessages that were present at the time of the last backup should be intact in the backup. By restoring your iPhone from a backup, you can get back the deleted iMessages.
However, any iMessages deleted after the last backup was created will not be present in the backup. So iCloud backup is only useful for recovering recently deleted messages that were backed up.
How far back can I restore iMessages from an iCloud backup?
iCloud stores backups for the last 30 days. So you can restore deleted iMessages from any backup made within the last 30 days. Older backups are automatically deleted by Apple to manage storage space.
To see your iCloud backup history on iPhone:
- Go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud
- Tap Manage Storage > Backups
- You will see a list of backups with the date they were created
Choose a backup date before the messages were deleted to restore from.
Step-by-step guide to restore iMessages from iCloud backup
Here is how to restore deleted iMessages from an iCloud backup on your iPhone:
- Go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Manage Storage > Backups
- Tap on the backup you want to restore from
- Tap Restore and confirm on the popup message
- Your iPhone will reboot and restore from the iCloud backup
- Once complete, your deleted iMessages should be restored
This will overwrite your current iPhone data and restore everything from the backup. So only follow these steps if you want to completely restore your phone to the state saved in the iCloud backup.
Can I selectively restore only iMessages from iCloud?
Unfortunately, there is no way to selectively restore only your iMessages from iCloud while keeping your current iPhone data intact.
When you restore from an iCloud backup, it will completely reset your iPhone to the state saved in that backup. All your current data and settings will be overwritten.
So iCloud restore is an all-or-nothing approach. You cannot pick and choose data like iMessages to restore individually.
How to recover recently deleted iMessages
If you just deleted iMessages recently within the last few hours or days, and have not created an iCloud backup in between, then the messages likely still reside on your iPhone’s storage unaffected.
In this case, you can use data recovery software to scan your iPhone and extract the deleted iMessages so you can view them again.
Some apps that can recover recently deleted iMessages include:
- iMyFone iBypasser – extracts deleted iMessages directly from your iPhone storage
- Fonelab iPhone Data Recovery – rescues lost iOS data including iMessages
- EaseUS MobiSaver -Recovers deleted iMessages and WhatsApp messages
These tools scan your iPhone’s raw storage and pull out deleted iMessages that have not yet been overwritten.
Steps to recover recently deleted iMessages with data recovery app
- Download and install the iPhone data recovery app on your computer
- Connect your iPhone to computer and launch the recovery app
- The app will scan your device and find all recoverable data
- Preview and select the deleted iMessages you want to restore
- Recover the iMessages to your computer storage
With a quality data recovery app, you can retrieve deleted iMessages from the past few days even without an iCloud backup.
Can I recover permanently deleted iMessages?
If the deleted iMessages are more than a few weeks old, and your iPhone has created newer data and backups in the meantime, then recovering them becomes very difficult.
This is because the storage space occupied by the old deleted iMessages gets gradually overwritten by new data. So the content is no longer intact on your device.
At this stage, your only hope lies with your iCloud backups. If you have a backup from before the messages were deleted, you can restore that backup to get the iMessages back.
But if you have no backups predating the deletion, then the iMessages are likely gone for good and practically impossible to recover.
Tips to prevent deleted iMessages in the future
To avoid losing important iMessages permanently in future:
- Create regular iCloud backups – iCloud backups saver deleted iMessages
- Backup your iPhone locally with iTunes – gives you a secondary backup
- Avoid deleting messages if you may need them later
- Use a messaging app that allows you to “unsend” for a period of time
- Enable iCloud Backup sync for Messages under iCloud settings
- Screenshot key messages you may need later before deleting
Following these tips will help ensure your iMessages are backed up and can be recovered if accidentally deleted.
Can I retrieve iMessages without backups or software?
Without an iCloud backup or data recovery software, your options to retrieve deleted iMessages are very limited. A few things you could try include:
- Check recently deleted folder on iPhone – shows recently deleted iMessages for up to 30 days.
- Connect iPhone to Mac and browse backups with iMazing app – may find some residual backup data.
- Ask the sender to resend the iMessage if possible.
- View synced iMessages on a linked iPad or Mac device.
But these limited methods are unlikely to recover more than a few deleted iMessages in rare cases. Having a backup is key for reliably restoring permanently deleted messages.
Conclusion
Here are the key takeaways on recovering deleted iMessages:
- Restore from an iCloud backup to retrieve recently deleted iMessages.
- Use data recovery apps to extract deleted iMessages if in past few days.
- Prevent future data loss by enabling iCloud and local backups.
- Without backups, recovering old deleted iMessages is very difficult.
- Act quick if you need to rescue deleted iMessages and avoid overwriting the data.
Following the steps outlined, you have a great chance of recovering accidentally deleted iMessages. Be sure to backup your iPhone regularly as prevention so you never lose important messages permanently.
