If I'm Using iCloud Messages, Do I Have Any Time to Recover Accidentally Deleted Texts?

Apparently, there is incredibly little documentation for iCloud Messages. When I search anything relating to recovering messages, even if I include iCloud in the search, I just get the usual methods, which presuppose local storage/backups, so those won't work for me. I understand that if I use iCloud Messages, deletions will immediately sync across devices, but is there really no way to undo that, even within a day or two? I absolutely need to recover these texts, and it seems ridiculous that a stupid mistake with the palm of my hand would permanently erase years of messages with at least a dozen contacts with no way of undoing it.


I am incredibly appreciative of any help and information. Definitely turning off iCloud Messages after this.


Note: I don't have the newest iOS, so I can't use that "recently deleted" tab.

Posted on Sep 22, 2022 4:17 PM

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3 replies

Sep 22, 2022 9:37 PM in response to Foggovor

Regardless of using iCloud messages or not, once deleted, messages are immediately erased.


If you have a device backup that contains the messages, and you do not use messages in iCloud, then you may have the message available to you if you factory reset your device to erase it completely and then restore it using the backup. You'll lose anything new since the last backup but you might regain the message.

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If I'm Using iCloud Messages, Do I Have Any Time to Recover Accidentally Deleted Texts?

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