How to read deleted WhatsApp messages and recover them on Android (March 2022)

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How to read deleted WhatsApp messages and recover them on Android (March 2022)

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • WhatsApp messages sent to individual or group chats can be deleted with ‘Delete for Everyone’ feature
  • The feature allows the sender to remove messages from the platform in a stipulated time
  • Recipients can still see deleted WhatsApp messages with this workaround
  • There are several apps that can help you read deleted WhatsApp messages.

 

WhatsApp allows you to revoke messages “mistakenly” sent to a recipient, with the ‘Delete for Everyone’ feature. All you have to do is long-press the message –> tap on the ‘trash’ icon that appears atop the page –> and select ‘Delete for Everyone’. If you’re doing this within a stipulated time, WhatsApp will replace the message with the banner ‘This message was deleted’ for the recipient. That said, the feature is not foolproof. There are workarounds with which recipients can see and read the deleted WhatsApp messages. Unfortunately, you can’t read deleted WhatsApp messages on iPhone just yet. If you’ve got an Android mobile phone, this is how to see deleted WhatsApp messages with/ without installing any third-party app.

WhatsApp allows you to delete messages up to 13 hours, 8 minutes, and 16 seconds after sending. After that, the option will be disabled and you’ll only be able to delete the messages for yourself – the recipient will still be able to read, copy, and forward the message.

How to Read Deleted WhatsApp Messages

Given that WhatsApp chats are end-to-end encrypted, there’s no way to actually recover a deleted message. The workaround is to use an app that keeps track of your WhatsApp notifications. This is more like accessing your notification history to figure out the deleted message. It works almost flawlessly though and I’ve been using it for over a year now without any issues. It even works with WhatsApp Business and other messaging apps like Instagram and Telegram. Here’s how you can read and recover deleted messages on WhatsApp:

  • Head to the Play Store and install WAMR on your phone. There are several apps that do the job but this is one that I’ve personally used for a while.
  • Once installed, open the app and read and accept the disclaimer. Tap on the Next arrow.
  • You’ll then be asked to select the apps you want to monitor. Select WhatsApp from the list along with any other messaging apps that you use if you want to.

 

  • Read through and keep swiping right across the menus till you get to the Setup screen. Here, tap on Enable next to Notification Reader.

  • You will now be redirected to your phone’s Settings app to grant notification access. Scroll down to find WAMR and tap on it.

  • Now, tap on the toggle next to Allow notification access and tap on Allow again

  • Once you’ve granted access, go back to the WAMR app and tap on the Next arrow.
  • That’s pretty much it. You now have a service that stores your WhatsApp notification history. If someone deleted a message they sent you, WAMR will notify you, and you can read the message by tapping on the notification.

  • Some phones tend to have aggressive RAM management which kills the WAMR process running in the background. We would recommend keeping the app running in the background at all times to prevent this from happening.

You will have to follow the same steps to read deleted WhatsApp messages every time. The messages will be stacked against all other notifications (anything from the last 24 hours). You can interact with the notification by tapping it, just as if it were in the phone’s pull-down notification shade. Much like Notisave, the Android 11 notification history option doesn’t recover media files. For that follow the aforementioned ‘how to see deleted WhatsApp media files step’.

 

 

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