Here’s how to read deleted messages on WhatsApp

For a few years now Meta, the company that owns the famous messaging app WhatsApp, has introduced the possibility of deleting sent messages. If initially it could be done within an hour at most, a few months ago the time available was increased to 2 and a half days.

Allowing you to delete a message sent on WhatsApp was a novelty welcomed by all users of the famous app. To do this, simply select the message or multiple messages sent, click on delete and then delete for everyone if you also want to delete the message for the recipient, delete for me if you want to delete the message only from our chat. Following some special instructions, WhatsApp also allows to recover deleted messages.

Allowing us to delete messages can be useful if we write something incorrectly, perhaps by mistake but also for many other reasons. When you delete a message, "this message has been deleted" appears in the recipient’s chat. Then we learn that a message had been sent and then deleted and it is impossible to trace the content of the message. Or maybe not because there are several valid tricks for reading a deleted WhatsApp message, especially if we have an Android device. Here are the ones.

Read notification history

The first trick we can try is very simple and does not require the installation of third-party apps. It is valid on Android smartphones and to try it just go to the settings. Follow the path Notifications and Status Bar > More Settings > Notification History. At this point, all that remains is to move the dedicated switch to ON.

Here you can consult the list of notifications received in the last 24 hours, locate deleted messages, and preview the first 100 characters. The limit is this: it is not possible to read the content of the message in full if it exceeds 100 characters, just as it is not possible to recover photos, videos, images, documents, files, and media received and sent. Finally, if the notification is canceled upon receipt, it will no longer be possible to recover it.

Using third-party apps

Another method to read deleted WhatsApp messages is to install third-party apps that promise to resolve our query. The first recommended one is Notification History. The application will provide a shortcut to access your mobile notifications. Just one click will be enough to access the list of Android notifications and search for the one relating to the deleted WhatsApp message.

An alternative is the Nova Launcher app, which works similarly to the first, i.e. recovering the notifications present in the Android settings.

Then we have WhatsRemoved+, an app that asks for permission to save WhatsApp notifications on your smartphone and records every message received, possibly including multimedia files. Every time a message is deleted you will receive a notification. Just click on it to read the contents. However, the feature is not available if the user immediately deletes the deleted message.

However, if we have deleted a chat by mistake and want to recover it, you can try with the backup.

Original article published on Money.it Italy 2024-02-24 11:48:04. Original title: Il trucco per leggere i messaggi cancellati su WhatsApp