How to recover deleted SMS or iMessage on iPhone? With the release of iOS 16, Apple’s Messages app has several new features. The three main ones are the ability to edit messages, completely unsend them, and mark text messages as unread. But besides this, it became possible to recover deleted SMS messages or iMessage. In this article, we will explain how this feature works and how to completely delete messages from iPhone.
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So, the essence of the function is to place deleted messages in a special folder “Recently Deleted”. From there, they will be automatically permanently deleted after 30 days. Messages can be restored if necessary.
The new “Recently Deleted” section in the Messages app has been hidden. To find the new Recently Deleted section in Messages, tap the Edit option in the top left corner of the main app window. Here you will be able to find the new option “Show Recently Deleted”.
With it, you can see the history of all your deleted messages. You can then restore the entire chat thread, delete it permanently, or leave it in its original place for the stipulated 30-day period.
Apple explained that next to the chats there is a mark showing the days remaining before the complete removal. After the timer expires, the messages will already be permanently deleted, but this can actually take several days.
For several years now, the Recently Deleted feature has been present in the Photos app. Interestingly, there you can even block access to this folder using a passcode, Face ID or Touch ID. In fact, starting with iOS 16, access to this category will be blocked by default. But in “Messages” there is no way to block the “Recently Deleted” folder from third-party access.
So, starting with iOS 16, if you want to make sure that a message or conversation thread is really gone forever, you can’t just delete it. You need to go to the Recently Deleted folder and clear all the necessary items there.
