WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. It allows you to easily communicate with friends, family, coworkers, and more through text, voice notes, video calls, and more. One handy WhatsApp feature is the ability to archive chats – this removes them from your main chat list for easier organization and decluttering. But what happens if you archive a chat by accident, or change your mind later and want to access those old messages again? Here’s what you need to know about recovering archived WhatsApp chats.
What Does Archiving a Chat Do?
When you archive a chat in WhatsApp, it removes the conversation from your main chats list and files it away into a separate Archived Chats section. The chat is not deleted, but simply organized away for your convenience. Your archived chats remain on your phone and you can still search them, but they don’t show up in your default view.
Archiving chats can be helpful for hiding conversations you don’t use often or want to get out of your way temporarily. It keeps them handy in case you ever need to refer back to them, but declutters your working chat list. Some common reasons to archive WhatsApp chats include:
- Hiding group chats you are no longer active in
- Removing conversations with people you no longer chat with regularly
- Organizing work or school group chats that are no longer relevant
- Cleaning up old chats to reduce clutter
Archiving is also useful if you want to take a break from a conversation. You can mute notifications and archive it for a while without deleting the chat history. Overall, archiving gives you a way to neatly tuck chats away while still preserving them.
How to Recover Archived Chats
If you have accidentally archived a chat or change your mind later, it is easy to find and recover archived WhatsApp conversations. Here are the steps to retrieve and unarchive chats on both Android and iPhone devices:
On Android:
- Open the WhatsApp app and tap on the three-dot menu in the top right corner
- Select “Archived chats” from the menu options
- This will open your list of archived conversations
- Tap and hold on the chat you want to unarchive
- Select “Unarchive” to move the chat back to your main chats list
On iPhone:
- Open WhatsApp and tap on the “Chats” tab at the bottom
- Swipe left to scroll horizontally until you reach the “Archived” section
- Tap on the chat you want to unarchive
- Tap on the “Unarchive” button at the top of the chat
- The chat will now show up again in your main Chats list
That’s all there is to it! The process is quick and easy on both platforms. Once unarchived, the chat acts just like a regular conversation again. You can send and receive messages as usual.
What Happens When You Archive a Chat?
Archiving a chat does not delete any messages. Your entire chat history remains saved on your phone and on WhatsApp’s servers. So when you unarchive a conversation, you get back access to the full chat exactly as it was before. Archiving simply removes the chat from view for organization purposes.
Some key points about archived WhatsApp chats:
- All previous messages are preserved
- You stop receiving notifications from archived chats
- You can still search archived chats using WhatsApp search
- Archived chats do not count towards your unread messages
- The chat can be picked up where you left off when unarchiving
Think of archived chats like cold storage – the data is still there and can be accessed anytime, but is kept out of your way for tidiness. There is no time limit on archived chats. Even years later, you can still unarchive a conversation and find your message history intact.
Are Archived Chats Secure?
WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption for all chats, including those that are archived. This means the chat content remains private and secured with encryption. No one outside of the chat participants can read your archived messages, not even WhatsApp itself.
The contents of an archived WhatsApp chat are protected by encryption keys stored only on the sender’s and recipient’s devices. As long as your phone remains secure, your archived chats have the same level of privacy as any other chat. Archiving simply organizes them in a separate list – it does not change the encryption or security in any way.
So you can feel safe archiving chats containing sensitive information. As long as you keep your phone locked and confidential, archived WhatsApp conversations have the same security as regular chats.
Does Archiving a Chat Notify the Other Person?
No, archiving a chat is only visible to you. It simply organizes the chat on your device specifically. When you archive a conversation, the other participant(s) in the chat do not receive any notification.
From their end, the chat looks and behaves normally. They can continue sending messages which will still reach you. But on your side, the chat is now tucked away in your archived list.
Archiving is a one-sided action – a way for you to organize your own chats without affecting the other people involved. They will not know if you have archived, unarchived, or deleted a chat unless you directly tell them.
Can the Other Person Tell if You’ve Archived Their Chat?
While archiving a chat does not send a notification, there are some signs the other user might be able to pick up on:
- Your online status no longer updates in an archived chat
- The double checkmarks won’t show up for them when you read their messages
- Your messages may seem delayed since you won’t see their responses in real-time
However, this behavior could also just mean you are offline or busy. There is no definite way to confirm if someone has specifically archived your chat. But if the other user is observant, they may deduce it based on the subtle differences in your online presence and response time.
The only surefire way to know if a chat has been archived is if the other person directly says so. WhatsApp does not provide any built-in notifications when your chat is archived or unarchived by the other party. Aside from the subtle signs, it is generally ambiguous unless the person tells you.
What Happens When You Delete an Archived Chat?
Deleting an archived WhatsApp chat permanently erases the conversation and its message history from your device and WhatsApp’s servers. Some key points:
- All messages are deleted and cannot be recovered
- Media and files exchanged are also deleted
- The chat is removed from your Archived list
- Your chat history remains intact for the other participant
So if you delete an archived chat, that conversation is gone for good on your end. However, it has no impact on the chat history stored on the other person’s device. The entire chat remains visible to them.
Deleting an archived chat is final – there is no way to recover the messages after deletion. So only delete chats you are absolutely certain you no longer need. For most cleanup purposes, archiving is safer than deleting.
How Long do Archived Messages Stay on WhatsApp?
WhatsApp stores your archived chats indefinitely on its servers until you delete them. There is no limit on how long archived messages remain saved in WhatsApp’s cloud storage.
Even years later, you can still open WhatsApp and unarchive a conversation to pick up where you left off. As long as you don’t delete the chat, your message history remains intact no matter how long it has been archived.
WhatsApp’s storage capacity is large enough to retain your archived chats as long as the account exists. The data is kept on WhatsApp’s servers to sync across any device you use WhatsApp on. Your archive stays up to date across mobile and desktop.
The only retention limit is for inactive WhatsApp accounts. If your account remains inactive for 120 days, your archived chats may be deleted along with the rest of your WhatsApp data. But as long as you actively use your account once in a while, your archive has unlimited cloud storage.
Can You Recover Deleted Archived Chats?
Unfortunately, there is no way to retrieve deleted archived chats on WhatsApp. Since both you and WhatsApp delete the conversation when you erase an archived chat, it is gone for good.
However, there are a couple last ditch options you could try if you deleted a chat by mistake:
- Request the other person to send you the chat history – Your message history still exists on their phone, so you can ask them to screenshot or forward it to you after a deletion.
- Use a third party data recovery app – Some advanced data recovery software claims to be able to salvage deleted WhatsApp history. But this is hit-or-miss and not guaranteed.
Other than that, your only option is to start the chat over from scratch. Be very careful before deciding to delete archived WhatsApp conversations to avoid losing valuable message history forever.
Can You Recover Deleted WhatsApp Messages That Weren’t Archived?
If you delete a WhatsApp chat that was not archived, the situation remains the same. Since the messages are erased from your device and WhatsApp’s servers, there is unfortunately no way to retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages through official means.
Your only hope lies in asking the other chat participant to re-send the lost portions of the chat. Or attempting third party data recovery, which is unreliable. For both archived and standard chats, once deletion occurs, the chat history is generally gone for good on your end.
Tips to Prevent Accidental Chat Deletions
Since deleted WhatsApp chats are unrecoverable, you want to avoid accidental deletions at all costs. Here are some tips:
- Enable chat backup – Regularly back up chats to Google Drive or iCloud.
- Be careful when bulk deleting – Double check each conversation before mass deleting.
- Archive instead of delete – Archiving keeps chats retrievable in case you change your mind.
- Double check before confirming delete – WhatsApp asks for a second confirmation before actually deleting.
Following precautions like these can prevent regrettable accidents. Backups act as a safety net as well in case things go wrong.
Conclusion
Archiving chats is a handy WhatsApp tool to organize conversations and reduce clutter without losing your message history. If you change your mind later, archived chats are easy to find again and unarchive.
The key things to remember are:
- Archived chats remain saved on your phone and WhatsApp’s servers
- You can access years-old archived conversations as long as you don’t delete them
- Other users do not receive notifications when you archive or unarchive a chat
- Deleted archived chats are gone for good and irretrievable
So archiving provides a useful middle ground between deleting and cluttering your chat list. Use it strategically to keep things tidy while preserving your WhatsApp history.