How to Recover Deleted Text Messages on iPhone

Apple added this feature in iOS 16. According to Apple, you can recover messages deleted in roughly the last 30 to 40 days.

If you do not see Recently Deleted, nothing is in the folder, or your iPhone is on an older iOS version. Messages deleted before you updated to iOS 16 cannot be recovered this way.

If you use the same Apple Account on an iPad or Mac, the deleted messages may still appear there. This often works if that device has been off, offline, or not syncing Messages in iCloud.

If Messages in iCloud is turned on everywhere, a deletion usually syncs to all your devices, so this method may not help.

This only works if your messages were included in an iCloud backup made before you deleted them.

Check this first. Apple says that when Messages in iCloud is turned on, your messages are stored in iCloud and are not included in your iCloud Backup. In that case, an older backup will not bring deleted texts back.

To see if Messages in iCloud is on: open Settings, tap your name, tap iCloud, then look for Messages in iCloud (on some versions, tap See All or Show All first).

If messages were in your backup:

Anything added to the phone after that backup date will be lost unless it is stored in iCloud or backed up somewhere else.

If you back up your iPhone to a computer, an older local backup may contain your messages.

Check the date of the latest backup. If it is from before the deletion, you can restore it. As with iCloud, restoring replaces the current contents of the phone. If you might need newer data, make a fresh backup first, and save a copy of the older backup folder before you begin so it is not overwritten.

Mobile carriers sometimes keep limited records of SMS messages, but often not the message content. iMessages are end-to-end encrypted and do not pass through your carrier. The simplest option may be to ask the other person in the conversation to send screenshots.

récupération is much harder without a backup. Modern iPhones encrypt all stored data, and the space used by deleted messages can be overwritten as the phone keeps running.

Be careful with third-party apps that promise to recover deleted texts:

If the messages matter for legal, business or personal reasons, stop using the phone and talk to a professional before trying anything else.

Sometimes texts are “lost” because the phone will not turn on, has a black screen, or has water damage. That is a different problem. The messages may still be on the device. Do not restore or erase it. See our guide to the iPhone black screen, or contact a data recovery specialist.