How to See Deleted Snapchat Messages [Tested Guide, 2025]

It’s difficult but not impossible to see deleted Snapchat messages. While Snapchat automatically deletes messages, you can retrieve the deleted content using message recovery tools we’ll test further.

Snapchat’s disappearing chats allow the sharing of casual, fleeting messages, but they create a false sense of privacy. According to BBC and the UK’s children’s charity, Snapchat is the most used platform for online grooming. Of the 7,000 sextortion cases reported up to March 2024 in the UK, 1,824 came from Snapchat.

Furthermore, this Volteface report shows that 56% of the young people interviewed saw drugs being advertised on Snapchat. This means that sextortion and drug dealing are top threats for kids visiting the platform.

With these numbers in mind, it’s imperative to know how your child engages on Snapchat. Suppose they are in danger of child offenses. In that case, you can be a step ahead by retrieving any deleted messages or recovering old Snapchat messages if you need to build a case against an offender.

To see deleted Snapchat conversation history, you can:

• contact Snapchat support to get the chat history data;
• recover old Snapchat messages from Android file manager;
• perform iOS data recovery;
• use a family tracker to recover Snapchat messages after 24 hours.

We’ve tested each of these methods and ready to show how effective they are at recovering deleted Snapchat messages.

Does Snapchat Save Deleted Messages?

Snapchat automatically deletes chats as follows:

When you delete a message, Snapchat will attempt to remove it from your friend’s devices and its servers. However, it may not work if your friend’s phone has a bad internet connection, or they are using an outdated version of Snapchat.

1. Contact Snapchat Customer Support to Restore Deleted Chats

Effectiveness: Depends on Availability of Saved Messages.

You can recover Snapchat messages by contacting Snapchat’s support team. They will send you a file with the deleted messages. This method works if you accidentally delete messages that WERE SAVED in a chat. However, it can take hours or days for the data to be sent to you.

To restore deleted Snapchat messages through Snapchat customer support:

1. Go to Snapchat on your phone or PC and tap your profile icon.
2. Tap on the gear icon in the top-right corner and scroll down to My Data.
   
3. You will see the data available for download. Ensure that you’ve checked the button next to Chat history.

Tap on Next at the bottom of the My Data page. You will see the calendar. Choose the period you want the data to come from and hit Submit. You may be asked to enter your registered email address.

Snapchat will confirm that they have received your data request. When I tried this method, Snapchat sent the data in two hours. It can take less or more, depending on the amount of data to be restored.

To retrieve the data, you need a compatible device, as it comes in a zip file. Thus, I’d suggest doing so on a computer through https://accounts.snapchat.com/v2/download-my-data.

Or follow the instructions provided by Customer Support in your email: login to your account > Your exports > Download.

1. Open zip file with Snapchat data and go to the folder labeled html, then chat_history.
   
2. Click on the available files to see the lost Snapchat messages.

If you saved a chat, you will see the retrieved contents of each conversation history.

You can open the chats and see the history of screenshots.

If the chats were not saved, you will see metadata information, including the person you were chatting with and the timestamps of the messages.

To be always able to retrieve deleted chats, learn how to save them.

2. Use File Manager to Retrieve Deleted Snapchat Messages

Effectiveness: Works if Phone Saves Snapchat Cache.

You can access limited data using the file manager app on Android. This method can work if you access the files as soon as you find out the messages have been deleted.

You will need a computer to perform data recovery on Android.

1. Connect your phone to a computer using a USB cable.
2. Go to PC and click on your device > Internal storage.
   
3. Open Android.
   
4. Click on Data.
   
5. Scroll down to com.snapchat.android.
   

If the deleted Snapchat messages are still saved, you will see a Snapchat cache folder. Open this folder to see the lost messages.

Based on my experience, this method can be a hit or miss. My data folder in the file manager did not have any saved messages. On the other device, there was no such folder at all.

3. How to Use Ex-iTunes Backup for Snapchat Data Recovery

Effectiveness: Questionable (Works for Saved Snapchat Messages Before Deletion).

Warning: Restoring from backup erases all current data on your iPhone, replacing it with the previous backup version.

Previously, iTunes Backup was a popular method for restoring iPhone data. But since macOS Catalina release in 2019, the Mac App Store no longer has iTunes, as Apple has replaced it with standalone apps.

To recover deleted Snapchat messages on iPhone with backup through PC:

1. Connect your phone to a computer using a USB cable.
2. Launch the Finder and choose your device from the Locations tab.
3. Under General, go to Backups, select Back up all the data on your iPhone to this Mac.
4. Click Manage Backups to see the available copies. If there is one you need, return to the previous window and tap Restore Backup.
5. Your phone will restart, and the recovered Snapchat messages should appear alongside other messages if backed up.

4. See Deleted Snapchat Messages Using a Family Tracker

Effectiveness: 100% Capable of Seeing Deleted Snapchat Messages.

A family tracker can help you see deleted Snapchat messages. You can monitor chats and snaps on a device by installing a tracking app on a child’s phone.

Note: a phone tracker starts collecting data only after installation. It doesn’t show previously deleted messages.

“Family trackers do not prevent Snapchat from deleting messages. Instead, they capture messages and keep them so that they are available when you access the tracking software.”

According to our tests, mSpy is the best Snapchat tracker for Android and iOS. mSpy works by taking screenshots of chats and keeping them in an online dashboard. You can access these chats even after Snapchat deletes the messages from the monitored device.

To use mSpy to see deleted Snapchat messages:

1. Go to mspy.com to download the app onto a target Android device. If you want to access Snapchat on an iPhone, you will need your child’s iCloud credentials.
2. Configure the app so that it can upload data from the phone onto an online control panel.
3. Access the online control panel and go to the social networks section.
4. Click on Snapchat to see screenshots of Snapchat activities. You will see deleted Snaps and messages since mSpy captures the phone’s data as long as the phone has an internet connection.

Try mSpy

mSpy offers comprehensive monitoring. You can track keywords to see when certain words are used. Besides Snapchat and location monitoring, mSpy tracks social media apps, browser history, calls, and text messages.

It can also restrict access to certain websites, apps, and Wi-Fi connections. Thus, you will always have the best monitoring features available with this phone monitoring tool.

Advice: Prevent Snapchat Messages from Deleting Automatically

While you cannot remove the default delete feature on Snapchat, you can change the settings to keep messages on Snapchat for longer or prevent them from being deleted.

How to Change Delete Settings on the Snapchat App

1. Open Snapchat and tap on the messages icon at the bottom.
2. Tap and hold on to a chat. Click Chat and Notification Settings.
   
3. Click Delete Chats… and choose 7 days after viewing. This feature will prevent Snapchat from deleting the messages after viewing or after 24 hours.
   

How to Save Messages in Snapchat Chats

1. Open Snapchat messages and click on a friend’s chat.
2. Tap on a message. It becomes gray when it’s saved.
   

Alternatively, press a message to see an additional menu and click the Save in Chat option to save that message. Even if the other messages in that chat are deleted, you will always have that message.

Saving a message can prove useful if you want to preserve evidence of a crime such as sextortion or cyberbullying.

Similarly, you can unsave the message by tapping on it.

Take Screenshots of Snapchat Messages

Screenshots are a great way of preserving Snapchat messages. Snapchat does not prevent taking screenshots, but it will notify the other person that you’ve taken a screenshot of a chat.

Still, you can keep the messages in your media library and retrieve them whenever you want to.

Comparison of Methods to See Deleted Chats on Snapchat

To help you decide which method to use to view deleted Snapchat messages, compare them in the table below.

Conclusion

Obviously, the most reliable method for recovering deleted Snapchat messages is to save them from the very beginning. But if they are already deleted, you have options to try: from file manager on Android to customer support.

mSpy is good for parental control as it allows you to see all deleted messages on Snapchat or other social media platforms. However, parents should use it permanently, as mSpy cannot retrieve messages deleted before it was installed.