Text messages don't actually get deleted

I can still see the previews to old deleted texts when I do a spotlight search but when I try to access them nothing comes up. How can I restore these texts so I can actually read them?? Please help.

This potentially frustrating behavior is the result of an intricacy of how the iPhone deletes data. When you "delete" some kinds of items from the iPhone, they don't actually get deleted. Instead, they're marked for deletion by the operating system and hidden so that they appear deleted. But they're still on the phone.

Only when you sync your iPhone with iTunes are they truly deleted.

If you want to truly and permanently delete SMS messages from your iPhone.

Sync Regularly - Since syncing with iTunes is what actually erases items you've marked for deletion, sync regularly. If you delete an SMS on your iPhone and then sync your iPhone, the message really will be gone for good.

gerry@manorfarm wrote:

it is a MAJOR SECURITY FLAW for the business world. For example, any contact with companies by text in the past, can be shown up this way.

But you can look after your iPhone and not let others tamper with it. And if you did intend leaving it lying about, you can easily lock it to prevent access by others?

Yes I agree but that is not really the point. The point is the phone should not store data that I beleive that I have deleted. It is only by chance that I discovered that this problem existed therefore I had not taken precautions. Also accidents do happen and phone get lost without locks being applied. It is not a perfect world and I would have thought that a company of the standing of Apple would move to fix such an obvious flaw and not leave it to customers to discover there was such a problem.

As you say, it is not a perfect world. If you delete a file from a hard disk on your computer, the system only marks that area as available. The data is still there if you have the right software to ignore the usual file structures and flags. How do you think the thousands of data recovery programs manage to work?

Since I started using computers in 1968, "deleting' data from storage devices has always been achieved by simply noting in the index to that storage that the space occupied by that data is now available for use. The data then gets overwritten over a period of time as and when more space is required to store new data.

Back in the day when I was working on mainframes "deletion" was achieved simply by changing the last character of the filename in the storage index to a special character.

If the data is high security, software is easily obtainable to make sure the actual data is overwritten with random data.

At no point is "Apple keeping it" as your post implies.

It has been this for the last forty years or so. No change here.

I think you are talking about something else entirely, you are referring to files this thread is relating to records, but using your examples lets exapnd your theroy.

When you delete a file it is deleted but the space is not used until you either defrag or do a format during that time it is possible to retrieve some of this information depending on the file..

However when you delete a call log or sms then you expect this to be gone from your phone in just the same way if you delete a record from an access database or a simple text file then once its gone its gone, you dont expect it to be wriiten to a database and recorded and even more so you dont expect that when you delete it and back up your phone it is then stored in a hard to find file on your computer.

Please tell me what other system works the same way that when you think you permantly delete something and then do a backup and find the deleted records are then stored in a backup, why would you want that? you have already specified that you dont want it by deleting it so why make a copy in a backup?

Ontop of that Apple have already stated that imessage is so secure using end to end encryption that they cannot give law enforcement a copy becuase they dont have it but then then they store the contents in plain text on the phone after the user has deleted it! how secure and private is that?

So yes, Apple are knowing keeping a copy of all sms/imessage and call records for some reason and I can be sure its not for the users convinience.

They are stored in the Iphone backup on your pc(if you do a backup) in really long filenames which are..

Contenst of SMS filename --

3d0d7e5fb2ce288813306e4d4636395e047a3d28

Contents of call history filename --

2b2b0084a1bc3a5ac8c27afdf14afb42c61a19ca

Just open in a text editor like notepad and you can see the content

Check out yourself, open itunes and create a backup and save to computer

To find bakup in mac

Open itunes go to preferences >Devices then right click the backup and then Open in finder

To find in windows type the following into any window(not browser)

AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup

Yes, I perform forensics on backups all the time for my clients. I'm a private investigator and certified digital forensics examiner. Use tools such as Cellebrite, Oxygen, MPE+, Lantern and a few more.

hi! im new to apple, iphone 5 to be specific. I accidentally deleted all the sms from my iphone and i wanted to retreive? which way do i need to go through first? are third party apps like tenorshare and wondershare credible? if there's anyone out there who's willing to teach me how, on a novice level perhaps, please i need your help. Thanks and best regards!

Yes, this issue may annoy many iPhone users, so did me. I'm annoyed with the deleted messages still there and haven't delete clearly. I used the common method:

Settings > General > Reset > Erase all Content and Settings. But it didn't work. Then I read an related article in the Internet: How to Permanently Delete iPhone Text Messages.

Maybe you can have a look. best of luck.

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A) I first reset my complete I Phone. They were still coming up wish really ticked me off.

B) I then decided to start with the letter (A) and all the numbers came up. I clicked on the first name that did not belong and when you do, go to Info and in red you will see Remove From Recents.

IT WAS DELETED! TRY THAT.

Yes, the text message you have deleted actually still exist.

You can use some recovery tool to get them back,

such as iPubsoft iPhone Backup Extractor

Run the software and connet the iPhone and computer.

Select the deleted text message from your backup file.

The last is choose the "Recovery" button.

Maxima.D wrote:

It's true. Anyone concerned about his/her privacy should know this: What happens is this: When you delete something, any visible links to your files gets cut off. The files themselves don't get removed. that's how some websites such as this one and others, claim to be able to recover deleted files from iphones etc. and as a matter of fact, they are capable of doing it.

SOLUTION (as you pointed to it): Do a factory-reset. You will loose everything and it is not possible to recover anything from that.

;) yeah!! I agree with Max!!!
The authorities can probably recover it if they are suspicious of you. If you're involved in illegal activities, don't do it with text or email. BTW your email can be retrieved from your ISP as well as a record of where you've been on the web. Maybe an experienced hacker could retrieve it. Don't let any hackers have access to your iPhone.

Raazhmed wrote:

Maxima.D wrote:

It's true. Anyone concerned about his/her privacy should know this: What happens is this: When you delete something, any visible links to your files gets cut off. The files themselves don't get removed. that's how some websites claim to be able to recover deleted files from iphones etc. and as a matter of fact, they are capable of doing it.

SOLUTION (as you pointed to it): Do a factory-reset. You will loose everything and it is not possible to recover anything from that.

😉 yeah!! I agree with Max!!!
The authorities can probably recover it if they are suspicious of you. If you're involved in illegal activities, don't do it with text or email. BTW your email can be retrieved from your ISP as well as a record of where you've been on the web. Maybe an experienced hacker could retrieve it. Don't let any hackers have access to your iPhone.

Simply resetting an iPhone isn’t enough to prevent others from recovering using the data recovery tool known on the market. If you want to keep your iPhone data 100% safe from being recovered, you should write some new data on the old data, so the new data will take over the storage of old data, then recovery will be impossible. So it’s very important to completely erase an iPhone before you resell or give it to others.

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