Facebook Messenger is one of the most popular ways for people to communicate.
It works effectively whether you are sitting a few hundred meters from each other or are continents apart.
Facebook has nearly three billion users and many of these use Facebook Messenger.
Considering there are eight billion people on the planet, that’s well over a third of the population!
In short, you can communicate with almost anyone.
Of course, with such a big user list Facebook takes security very seriously.
Alongside first-class protection against hackers, they are dedicated to protecting your privacy when using the app.
There are many reasons why you may wish to delete your Messenger messages.
It can be to hide what you are talking about, or to stop a special someone finding out who you are talking to online.
Equally, you may wish to delete a post as it is embarrassing or you may simply delete it by accident.
If you’ve done that you may be wondering how to recover permanently deleted messages on Messenger.
Facebook says it’s not possible.
But, there are several things you can do.
Check First
The moment you accidentally delete a message, panic usually sets in.
However, before you get carried away, take a deep breath and check your account.
In most cases, messages aren’t permanently deleted straight away. Instead, they are put into a deleted folder which is emptied at regular intervals.
Check your deleted items folder for the deleted message, you’ll be able to put it back where it was.
Equally, a message may be assumed to be deleted because you can’t find it anymore.
Sometimes this happens when newer threads have obscured the older one, making it harder to locate.
Search for the contact name, thread name, or some other relevant detail.
It may locate the message for you and save you a lot of hassle.
How To Recover Permanently Deleted Messages On Messenger
While there are several methods to recover Facebook Messenger messages, using the third party app EyeZy is one of the best.
However, you’ll need to install this app before you delete messages.
It won’t work if done afterwards.
1. EyeZy
EyeZy is a spy app. It’s designed to record everything that happens on a target phone, store the information, and allow you to see it via its own dashboard.
Everything that is done on the target device is recorded using a remote keystroke logger, giving it a completely accurate picture of your activity and a record of all messages sent and received.
The information is saved indefinitely.
When you discover that you have accidentally deleted a message you can log into the EyeZy dashboard and check out what it says.
It’s also effective if you have suspicions about a partner or are concerned about the online safety of your child.
To get started with EyeZy you’ll need to create an account. All they need is your email address and a password of your choosing.
You’ll be given a link to download on the target device.
You can then select the free trial option and test the capabilities of this app for free for 7 days.
After that you’ll need to choose a subscription and make your payment.
It’s cheaper per month to sign up for a 12-month contract, which works out at $9.99 a month.
Signing up for just one month is over $40.
The trickiest part about using EyeZy is the installation. It’s not an issue if you’re doing it on your own device.
But it can be more difficult to load onto someone else’s.
Android
The only way to load EyeZy onto an Android phone is by physically downloading it on the target phone.
You’ll need to find five minutes when the phone is not being used and it’s unlocked. Simply open Google Play and go into the settings.
You’ll see a toggle next to Play Protect, turn this off.
It’s then easy to open a browser and paste the EyeZy link into it. As soon as you hit enter it will download into the operating system.
This makes it invisible to the user.
That’s it, just remember to close the browser and Google Play properly to ensure the user doesn’t know you have been on the phone.
iPhone
The link still needs to be pasted into a browser on an iPhone. You can do this physically on the phone in the same way as for an Android.
However, if you know the user’s iCloud username and password you can install the EyeZy app via the cloud without needing to touch the phone.
Simply log into the cloud and paste the link into a browser.
It will download and hide in the phone.
In both cases you’ll be able to log into the EyeZy dashboard from your own device and see everything they are doing.
That includes:
All Social Media Messages
EyeZy records all social media messages, both incoming and outgoing.
It stores the messages allowing you to see them whenever you want. This includes any media files.
If you delete the messages on social media, whether Facebook Messenger to another site, they will still be on EyeZy.
In short, all you need to do to see a deleted Messenger message is log into EyeZy and check social media activity, specifically Facebook Messenger.
You can’t add them back onto Facebook but at least you’ll have a copy of them.
Phone Contacts
EyeZy also gives you the complete list of phone contacts on the phone with their contact details.
It even tells you what calls have been made, when, how long, and who is called or calls the most.
It’s an effective way of checking whether a partner or child is calling someone they shouldn’t be.
Location
A nice feature of this spy app is the ability to see where the phone is at any given time.
The app uses the GPS in the phone and works whether the phone is switched on or off.
You’ll be able to see the current location and the history of where they have been.
Browser History
EyeZy allows you to see all the sites that the target has visited online. It will even tell you the ones visited most often.
It can help you understand their online preferences and whether you need to take action or not.
App List
You’ll also get a complete list of apps installed on the phone.
This will show the app, how often it is used, and when it was last used.
Notifications
Best of all, EyeZy gives you notifications. You can choose to be alerted when the phone leaves a certain area.
Or, you can be notified when predefined keywords and phrases are used.
It alerts you and allows you to log into the app and check what the target is doing.
EyeZy gives you plenty of other useful information while making sure you can never permanently delete a Messenger message.
2. Unarchive Messages
Facebook Messenger has an archive feature although many people don’t realize it’s there.
All you have to do to archive a message is to swipe left on the message.
You’ll be given a series of options, one of which is to archive the message.
It should be noted that only Android devices call this archive, iOS systems generally refer to it as ‘hide chat’.
Once a message is in there it won’t be visible in your normal messages box. To view it you’ll need to go into the archive.
However, the good news is that you can’t permanently delete a message in the archive, even if you press delete by accident.
That means, if you do accidentally delete a message, you can simply slide your finger to the left of the screen and select ‘unarchive’ or ‘unhide chat’.
The messages will instantly reappear.
Of course, that only works if you do it the moment you delete it. If not, you can find it this way:
- On Messenger look for ‘more’ in the options list
- Select messages
- You’ll be given several options, one of which is ‘archived’
- Select this and you’ll be given a list of your contact names
- Choose the name of the person that sent you, or you sent, a now-deleted message
- Next to the name is an actions option, select this
- Choose ‘unarchive’ from the options and your message will reappear!
Of course, for this to work you must archive your message before you accidentally delete it.
3. Information Download
Another option is to save your Facebook information. You can do this by:
- Opening your Facebook page and logging in
- Select the menu option in the top right of the screen (the three horizontal bars)
- Scroll down the list and choose ‘settings’
- Next choose the option which says ‘Your Facebook Information’
- You’ll see an option that allows you to download your information, choose this
- You’ll then see, at the top of the site, several download formats. Choose the one that best suits you
- Make sure that all messages have been selected, that means a tick in every box
- Press the ‘create file’ and your information will be downloaded in the desired format
The data file will be emailed to you within a few minutes, and you’ll be able to open it.
If you accidentally delete any message you’ll be able to find it in this file.
Of course, this only works if the message was downloaded via the above method before being deleted.
4. Keystroke Loggers
Another way to access any message you have deleted is via a keystroke logger.
These are apps which you install on your device. Once installed, they will record every button you hit or tap.
That gives them a complete picture of what you are doing online, whether in Messenger or on some other app.
The keystroke logger can be accessed remotely and will convert all the keystrokes into a more readable format.
All you have to do is scan through it to find the message you accidentally deleted and reread it.
These apps work in a similar way to EyeZy.
However, they don’t offer all the extra features, leaving you to sift through the information yourself.
Equally, if you’re using this to monitor deleted messages on someone else’s phone, you’ll need to install the keystroke logger first.
That means physically accessing the Android phone and downloading the app. Or, loading it via iCloud with the username and password.
Again, the only way this works is if you have installed the keystroke logger before you delete the message.
Summing Up
Anyone can accidentally delete a message without meaning to. It can be frustrating, especially when it has important information.
When this happens on Facebook Messenger you’ll find it is difficult to recover, that’s because their security is very good.
In order to protect your privacy they will permanently delete a message when instructed to do so.
In extremely urgent cases it’s possible to contact Facebook and ask them to find the deleted message, it is likely to be kept on their servers for 30 days.
But, there is no guarantee of success with this approach.
Fortunately, there are several other methods which may work, as listed above.
They all have one flaw, they need to be in place before you accidentally delete a Messenger message.
If you have to choose between the available options when looking at how to recover permanently deleted Messenger messages, then you should opt to install EyeZy today.
It will ensure you never lose a Messenger message again.
You can benefit from a free 7-day trial to test out the app today.
You’ll quickly realize it’s the best way to recover deleted messages and it offers an array of other useful features.
