It’s always frustrating when you accidentally delete an Instagram message or an entire chat, especially if it contains important information such as meet-up details.
Fortunately, Instagram allows you to recover deleted messages. We’ve created this guide to show you how to do so, while including photos to help you through the process.
It’s important to know that this method doesn’t guarantee 100% success, so don’t get your hopes up too much about recovering your lost messages. We’d recommend backing up your data frequently to avoid this issue.
But if your messages have already been deleted, then follow our steps below to try and bring them back from the dead.
What you’ll need:
- An Instagram account
- Up to 48 hours for your request to process
The Short Version
- Log into Instagram in your browser
- Go to your Privacy and Security settings
- Scroll down to Data Download and hit Request Download
- Confirm your details and wait for an email
- Click the download link to download your data
- Open the file and check the Messages folder
How to recover deleted messages from Instagram
Step
1Go to Instagram.com in your browser
This isn’t something that can be done in the Instagram app.
Step
2Sign in to your account
You may already find yourself signed in if you’ve logged into Instagram recently.
Step
3Go to your profile
You can do this by clicking the profile icon in the top-right corner and selecting Profile.
Step
4Click Edit Profile
This option should be right next to your username.
Step
5Click Privacy and Security
This will be on the left side of the screen.
Step
6Scroll down and click Request Download
You can find the link directly under the Data Download heading.
Step
7Click Next to confirm your email address and chosen information format
Stick with HTML if you just want to view your data and not import it into other services.
Step
8Enter your password and click Request Download
Instagram warns it could take up to 48 hours for you to receive a link in your email inbox, though ours took an hour and a half.
Step
9Once you receive the email, click Download Information
This will send you back to Instagram. You may need to log in again to verify it’s you.
Step
10Click Download Information
The link will be available for up to two weeks, so be sure to download it before that time period is up or you’ll need to request a new link.
Step
11Head to the Messages folder to see an archive of your chats!
It’s important to note that this folder will only contain the information that is stored on Instagram’s servers, so you might not find everything you’re looking for.
Troubleshooting
If Instagram can’t retrieve your deleted messages from its servers, you can try using a third-party app to find them for you. Just make sure you use an app that you trust and bear in mind that this may not work either.
The best way to recover deleted Instagram messages is to keep a regular backup of all your data using the method above.
If you’re chatting with a friend, you can always just ask them to forward the message to you as it should still be viewable on their end. This works well if you’ve made plans and have deleted the message stating when or where you’re meeting.
You can recover comments immediately after you post delete them by tapping on the red banner that appears when you hit delete.
You might like…
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
