How to retrieve recently deleted texts on Android

Texts are an important facet of mobile life. We use texts for myriad purposes, and knowing they are there, waiting for you to respond or simply to fondly review what someone has said or sent, brings comfort.

But sometimes, we accidentally (or intentionally) delete a text that we shouldn't have. We've all done it. When that happens, you might not realize you needed to keep that text around, but eventually, you might realize that, yes, a certain text was necessary to have and to hold.

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What do you do?

Although it is possible that the text is gone for good, there is also a chance that you can retrieve it. In fact, there are three ways to retrieve a recently deleted text. Let's explore.

How to retrieve your recently deleted texts on Android devices

Method 1: From Archives

What you'll need: For this method, you'll need an Android device connected to your Google account.

This method depends on how you removed the message. If a message was deleted, it cannot be retrieved this way. Because of that, I suggest you customize the swipe actions in Messages (Messages > Settings > Swipe Actions) so that swiping right archives and swiping left deletes. Once you've done that, make sure to archive messages instead of deleting them. You can then delete the archive after a given period.

Method 2: From backup

This one is trickier and depends on you having backed up your device prior to deleting the text (which is why you should always enable automatic backups). You can view when the phone was last backed up here. If the backup occurred after the text was deleted, chances are slim it will be found in the backup.

If your backup happened before the text was deleted, you're in luck. However, to restore it, you'll have to do a factory reset.

1. Factory reset your device

Open Settings and then go to System > "Reset options." Once there, tap "Erase all data (factory reset)," type your password or PIN, and then follow the on-screen prompts.

2. Restore from backup

During the factory restore, you'll be asked if you want to restore the phone from backup. When prompted, agree to that step and follow the prompts. Once the restore is finished, you should have all of the data on your phone that existed on and prior to the date of the backup. Hopefully, this will include your missing texts. That's why it's important to first check the date of the existing backup for your phone; otherwise, you'll have gone through the factory restore process for nothing.

3. Restore from Trash (Samsung)

This is one of those features found only on Samsung devices (and I certainly wish Google would take notice). Samsung devices have a Recycle Bin, just like your desktop computer. Restoring from the Recycle Bin is actually quite simple. Here's how.

4. Open the Recycle bin

In Samsung Messages, tap the three-dot menu button to the right of the search icon. From that drop-down, tap "Recycle bin." Note: Depending on your Android version, the Recycle bin might be listed as Trash.

5. Restore the message

Tap Edit at the top right of the window. Next, locate and select the message you want to restore. Once you've selected the message, tap Restore at the bottom-left corner of the window.

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There are apps you can install from the Google Play Store that claim to restore messages, but those apps are iffy at best, and I'm not a fan of installing more apps than you need. Hopefully, one of the above methods will work for you. If not, you might need to reach out to the person associated with the message and ask if they can take a screenshot of the message you deleted and send it to you.