Many WhatsApp users have accidentally deleted important messages and wished they could get them back. On Android devices, it is possible to retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages in some cases. There are a few different methods that may work depending on your specific situation.
Why Would You Want to Retrieve Deleted Messages?
Here are some common reasons why recovering deleted WhatsApp messages on Android can be useful:
– You accidentally deleted an important message and need to recover it. This is probably the most common scenario. We’ve all hastily deleted a message only to realize later that we still needed it.
– You want to recover old WhatsApp messages that were deleted a while ago. For example, maybe you deleted a conversation thread from years ago but now want to revisit it for nostalgia or reference.
– Your messages were deleted without your knowledge. In some cases, messages can be deleted from WhatsApp without you actively deleting them. If this happens, retrieving the deleted messages can help you figure out what happened.
– You need to recover a deleted message as evidence. WhatsApp messages can sometimes be important for proving facts or chronologies, so restoring deleted messages may help your case.
– Recovering deleted messages after switching phones. When you switch from an old Android phone to a new phone, any deleted WhatsApp messages will not carry over during the transfer process. Restoring these from your old device can help.
Factors That Affect Message Recovery
Whether you can retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages on Android depends on a few key factors:
– How long ago the messages were deleted. The more recent the deletion, the higher your chances of recovery. After too long, the data may be overwritten.
– Whether the messages were deleted just from your device, or also from the WhatsApp server. If they are only deleted locally, recovery is often possible. But if the server copy was deleted too, it becomes much harder to restore them.
– Whether you have root access on your Android device. Having root makes some recovery methods easier. Without root, you may have limited options.
– Whether the messages were deleted from the sender’s device as well. If the sending device also deleted the messages, there may be no copies left to recover from.
– Your Android device model and WhatsApp version. Some recovery techniques only work on certain device models or app versions. The options can vary.
– Whether your device was encrypted and the type of encryption used. Stronger encryption makesdeleted data more difficult to recover.
How WhatsApp Deletion Works
To understand how to recover deleted WhatsApp messages on Android, it helps to know how WhatsApp’s deletion process works:
– When you delete a WhatsApp message on your Android device, it is initially just removed from your device’s local WhatsApp database. However, it still exists in encrypted backups both on your device and in WhatsApp’s cloud backups.
– For the first 30 days after deletion, the message remains in your device’s local backups. This allows you to recover recently deleted messages easily during this period.
– After 30 days, the message is deleted from your local backups. But it will still be present in your WhatsApp cloud backups, which can retain data for up to 120 days.
– Once 120 days pass, the message is fully deleted from cloud backups too. At this point, the message is likely unrecoverable through official WhatsApp tools.
– However, with advanced recovery software, it is sometimes possible to restore WhatsApp messages even after 120 days. This requires extracting data remnants from your phone’s memory. Success depends on factors like phone model and recovery tool used.
Official WhatsApp Tools to Restore Deleted Messages
WhatsApp provides a few official tools that you can use to retrieve deleted messages on Android, at least in some scenarios:
Restore from Local Backup
For up to 30 days after deletion, you can restore deleted messages from your device’s local WhatsApp backups:
1. Uninstall WhatsApp and clear its data. This erases your current version of WhatsApp and any deleted messages that are gone from its database.
2. Reinstall WhatsApp and verify your number. WhatsApp will then restore your data from the local backup after setup.
3. Once your chats are restored, previously deleted messages from the past 30 days should reappear.
The downside is you may lose any WhatsApp messages that were deleted more than 30 days ago. But it’s the easiest way to recover recently deleted data.
Restore from Google Drive Backup
If more than 30 days have passed, you may be able to restore deleted messages from your WhatsApp cloud backup stored in Google Drive:
1. Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp as above.
2. During setup, when prompted to restore messages, decline restore. This ensures you start with a blank WhatsApp.
3. Once setup is complete, go to WhatsApp > Settings > Chats > Chat Backup > Restore to restore your cloud backup.
4. You can then view and recover deleted messages from up to 120 days ago.
The limit here is 120 days maximum due to WhatsApp’s cloud retention policy. But otherwise it can help rescue deleted messages between 30 to 120 days old.
Retrieve from Recipient’s Phone
If you deleted a message you sent to someone else, you can ask them to send it back to you. As long as the message still exists on their device, they can resend it to restore your copy of the deleted message. This relies entirely on the recipient being willing and able to retrieve and send it back to you though.
Third-Party Apps for Recovering Older Deleted Messages
The official WhatsApp tools have limits on how old of deleted messages they can restore. But third-party apps provide additional options to retrieve WhatsApp messages deleted beyond 120 days ago.
Data Recovery Software
Data recovery apps like DiskDigger and EaseUS MobiSaver for Android allow scanning your phone’s memory for deleted data remnants and extracting them. This can let you recover extremely old deleted WhatsApp messages beyond the 120 day limit, sometimes years old depending on your specific device and situation. The process involves:
1. Installing the recovery app on your Android device.
2. Granting root access if needed for maximum effectiveness.
3. Scanning your device’s memory and finding recoverable data.
4. Filtering specifically for deleted WhatsApp message data.
5. Restoring and exporting any recoverable WhatsApp messages found.
The success rate varies greatly based on your specific device, Android version, recovery software used, and how long ago the WhatsApp messages were deleted. But in some cases, years-old deleted WhatsApp messages can be recovered this way when not possible through official means.
WhatsApp Viewer Tools
Tools like WhatsRemoved provide ways to view and extract deleted WhatsApp messages from your phone’s local and cloud backups more easily. They do not recover deleted messages beyond WhatsApp’s normal retention periods. But they can provide convenient ways to quickly browse and restore deleted WhatsApp data from your device and Google Drive backups, without needing to go through the uninstall/reinstall process manually.
Preventing WhatsApp Message Deletion
To avoid dealing with message recovery entirely, you can take steps to prevent deleting important WhatsApp messages in the first place:
– Enable WhatsApp chat backups to cloud storage regularly. This provides additional backups beyond your local device in case messages are deleted.
– Use a WhatsApp backup viewer to export and archive important chat threads occasionally. This lets you retain copies outside of WhatsApp’s backup system.
– Be very careful before deleting messages and chat threads. Double check that they are backed up or exported first.
– Enable WhatsApp’s new “delete for me” feature to delete messages just locally but keep the recipient’s copy. This avoids fully deleting important messages.
– Use a third party app like WA Exporter to regularly export WhatsApp messages to other formats. This creates additional backups you control.
– Store important messages in other apps like emails or notes before deleting WhatsApp copies. This gives you alternate access if needed.
– On the WhatsApp FAQ website, consider toggling “Save to Camera Roll” to automatically keep media files.
Summary
Here are the key points about recovering deleted WhatsApp messages on Android:
– It is possible to retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages on Android in many cases.
– Success depends on how old the deletion is, root access, backups, device model, encryption, etc.
– Official WhatsApp tools can restore messages deleted up to 30 or 120 days ago from local or cloud backups.
– Third-party data recovery apps sometimes recover extremely old deletions by scanning device memory.
– Preventing message deletion in the first place via backups and exports is ideal to avoid this issue.
– With the right circumstances and techniques, recovering deleted WhatsApp data is often achievable, but not guaranteed. Approach with reasonable expectations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it possible to recover deleted WhatsApp messages without backups?
It is possible in some cases using data recovery apps that scan your phone’s memory for deleted data remnants. But without backups, it becomes much more difficult, unreliable, and only works for relatively recent deletions. Having backups available is key for reliably restoring deleted WhatsApp messages.
Can I recover deleted WhatsApp messages after factory resetting my phone?
Factory resetting your phone makes recovering deleted WhatsApp messages much harder. A factory reset erases your device’s local backups where deleted data may still reside. Your only option becomes restoring very old cloud backups or scanning your device memory for partial message fragments. There is almost no guarantee of message recovery after factory reset.
How can I tell if my deleted WhatsApp messages are still recoverable?
As a rule of thumb, deleted WhatsApp messages have the highest chance of recovery during the first 30 days after deletion while still in local backups, and gradually lower chances up until 120 days when deleted from cloud backups. Beyond 120 days, recovery becomes difficult but may still be possible in some cases. The older the deletion, the lower your chance of recovery.
Can I use WhatsApp message recovery services or apps that claim to restore any deleted WhatsApp messages?
Some third-party services claim they can recover any deleted WhatsApp message easily, often for a fee. However, due to how WhatsApp encrypts and deletes data, this is physically impossible in many cases. These services likely rely on ordinary data recovery apps, which have mixed results. Avoid services making improbable claims about easy WhatsApp message recovery regardless of device or deletion date. Recovery beyond 120 days remains challenging.
If I recover deleted WhatsApp messages, will the sender be notified?
No, recovering deleted WhatsApp messages does not notify the sender. You are simply restoring message copies that already existed in your device’s backups or memory. The sender will not know if you successfully recover and access the deleted messages later on. It does not re-send or recreate the messages. You are only accessing your own previously deleted copies.
Conclusion
While WhatsApp does delete messages completely after 120 days, there are ways to recover recently deleted WhatsApp messages on Android phones in many cases. Depending on your specific circumstances, you may be able to retrieve deleted WhatsApp data using official tools, third-party apps, or even assistance from the recipient. Recovery becomes very difficult for extremely old deletions, so regular backups are recommended. But with the right approach, there is a good chance of restoring deleted WhatsApp messages, at least from the past few months. Handle deletions carefully and act fast if you need to recover lost WhatsApp data.