How to Recover Deleted Text Messages on iPhone

To recover deleted text messages on iPhone, open Messages, tap Filters (tap Edit on iOS 18), choose Recently Deleted, select the conversations, tap Recover and confirm. Apple says you can only recover messages and conversations you deleted within the last 30 to 40 days. If they are not there, the only remaining route is a backup made before you deleted them, and restoring one replaces everything currently on the phone.

This guide goes through the steps in order, from the harmless fix to the last resort, and covers what Messages in iCloud changes and why to be wary of recovery apps. Every iOS detail links to the Apple Support page it comes from.

1. Recover messages from Recently Deleted

Try this first, because it costs nothing and changes nothing else on your phone.

1. Open Messages.
2. On the conversations page, tap Filters. If you use iOS 18, tap Edit instead. Apple’s step-by-step article gives both.
3. Tap Recently Deleted.
4. Select the conversations that contain the messages you want back.
5. Tap Recover, then tap Recover Message (or Recover [Number] Messages).

The newer layout in Apple’s iPhone User Guide puts the same option behind a button in the conversation list, then Recently Deleted, then Recover and Recover Messages.

How long you have. The two Apple pages word it differently. The support article says 30 to 40 days. The iPhone User Guide says up to 30 days. Treat 30 days as the safe number, and do not count on the extra ten.

Requirements. You need iOS 16 or later. Apple states that a message deleted before you updated to iOS 16 cannot be recovered this way.

What cannot come back. Per Apple’s iPhone guide, a message you removed with Undo Send is permanently deleted, and audio messages that expire before you save them are not recoverable.

If you use Messages in iCloud. Recovering a message or conversation on your iPhone recovers it on all your devices where Messages in iCloud is on, according to Apple. Deleting and recovering only affects your own iPhone and other Apple devices signed in to the same Apple Account. You cannot recover anything from someone else’s phone.

2. What to do when Recently Deleted is empty

• Update iOS if the folder is missing. The feature needs iOS 16 or later.
• Ask the other person. Apple says you cannot recover messages from anyone else’s device, but they may still have the conversation and can screenshot or forward what you need.
• Check the date. If you deleted the thread more than 30 days ago, Recently Deleted is no longer an option and the answer is a backup.

This is also the honest answer to how to see deleted text messages on iPhone. Apple documents one place where deleted messages stay visible, Recently Deleted. We found no Apple page that describes a way to browse messages once they are gone from it.

3. Recover from a backup

If the messages are past the Recently Deleted window, a backup is the only route Apple documents. It works only if you have a backup that was made while the messages still existed. Check one thing first, because it decides whether the iCloud route can work at all.

Does your iCloud backup contain your messages?

Apple explains that if you do not use Messages in iCloud, your iMessage, SMS and MMS messages are included in your iCloud Backup. If you do use Messages in iCloud, your messages sync to iCloud automatically and are not included in the daily backup.

So the answer depends on a setting. You can see it in Settings > [your name] > iCloud. On iOS 17.2 and later, tap See All, then Messages in iCloud, as Apple’s iCloud guide describes. If it is on, an iCloud backup is not where your old messages live, and restoring one is unlikely to help. A backup on your computer is a separate case, which is covered below.

Restoring from an iCloud backup

Apple’s restore guide says that if you already set up your device, you must erase it before you follow the restore steps. In short:

1. Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone and erase the phone, as Apple’s guide to restoring from a backup explains.
2. At the setup screens, choose to restore from iCloud Backup and sign in to your Apple Account.
3. Review the date and size of each backup and choose one made before the messages were deleted.
4. Keep the iPhone on Wi-Fi and power until the progress bar finishes.

Restoring from a computer backup

If you back up to a Mac or Windows PC, connect the iPhone by USB, select it, and choose Restore Backup. Pick the backup by its date and size. If the backup is encrypted, you must enter its password first. Apple’s restore article lists the steps for both Finder and the Apple Devices app.

The caution that matters

Restoring a backup replaces what is on the phone with what was in the backup. That is the point of it, and it is also the cost. Anything you added after the backup was made, such as newer messages, photos, notes and app data, is not in it. Apple’s article does not frame this as a warning, but it follows from how a restore works.

Before you restore:

• Make a fresh backup first if you can, so you can return to today’s state. Do not overwrite the old backup you are counting on. Apple notes that if you set a device up as new, the new iCloud backups replace your saved ones. If you want an older backup, restore as soon as possible.
• Choose the backup by date. Pick one made before the deletion and after the messages arrived.
• Weigh the trade. Erasing a phone for a single message is a poor deal unless it matters more than everything added since the backup.

Why recovery apps cannot be trusted

Many websites and apps claim they can scan your iPhone and retrieve messages that are permanently deleted. We cannot verify those claims, and we found no Apple page that supports them. Apple documents two routes, Recently Deleted and a backup restore. Anything else asks you to hand over access to your phone and your private conversations, often for a payment, with no way for you to check what it does with them.

Messages are about as private as data gets on a phone. We would not give that access to a tool whose results nobody can confirm.

Keeping the next deletion recoverable

Know your Messages in iCloud setting, because it decides whether your messages are in a backup or only in the sync. Make a manual backup before a big clean-up of Messages, since a restore only helps if the backup predates the mistake. And if you want messages out of sight rather than gone, deleting is the wrong tool. How to hide text messages on iPhone covers what you can do without deleting anything.

Photos work differently from messages, with their own Recently Deleted album and its own 30-day rule. If that is what you lost, see how to recover deleted photos from an iPhone.

A note on Forevault

Forevault is our app for private photos and videos, and it does not handle text messages. If you keep photos in a vault and want a way back, it encrypts files on the device with AES-256-GCM and opens with a pattern on a 5×5 grid or a passcode or password, with Face ID as an option. You can keep separate vaults for different patterns, and the lock screen does not list them. You get a 12-word recovery phrase, an encrypted backup to your own iCloud with a “Test a restore” option, and free export to Photos or Files at any time. There is no account and no data collected. The free tier holds 100 photos, 10 videos and 3 vaults. There is no calculator disguise, and it protects against someone holding your phone, not forensic analysis. Questions go to the support page. Download Forevault on the App Store.

Frequently asked questions

How do I recover deleted text messages on iPhone without a backup?

Use Recently Deleted in Messages. Tap Filters (or Edit on iOS 18), tap Recently Deleted, select the conversations and tap Recover. This works only for messages you deleted within the window Apple gives, 30 to 40 days in its support article and up to 30 days in the iPhone User Guide.

Can I see deleted text messages on iPhone after 30 days?

We found no Apple page that describes a way to view them once they leave Recently Deleted. The documented option after that is restoring a backup made before you deleted them.

Where is the Recently Deleted folder in Messages?

On the conversations page, tap Filters, or Edit on iOS 18, then tap Recently Deleted. You need iOS 16 or later, and Apple says messages deleted before you updated to iOS 16 cannot be recovered.

Does restoring a backup delete my current messages?

It replaces the phone’s contents with what the backup held, so anything newer than the backup is not there afterwards. If you use Messages in iCloud, your messages are not included in the daily iCloud backup, per Apple.

Can I recover messages the other person deleted?

No. Apple says deleting and recovering only affects your iPhone and your other devices signed in to the same Apple Account, and that you cannot recover messages on anyone else’s device.

Can an app recover permanently deleted messages?

We cannot verify that any can, and Apple documents only Recently Deleted and backup restores. Sharing your phone’s data with a tool whose results you cannot check is a risk to your privacy.