Ever accidentally deleted a direct message on Instagram? As frustrating as this can be, luckily there are ways to recover those messages.
While Meta’s Help Centre claims it isn’t possible to bring back a deleted Instagram message, this isn’t actually completely true.
Although it can seem like quite a convoluted process, it’s not too difficult to recover your lost messages but the process does require some patience.
It’s also worth noting that this method isn’t foolproof, and the best way to ensure you never lose an accidentally deleted Instagram message again is to continuously back up your data, by following the steps below.
Otherwise, follow our steps below to recover deleted messages from Instagram, backing up your data in the process.
What you’ll need:
- An Instagram account
- Access to a web browser on a computer
- Up to 48 hours for your request to be processed
The short version:
- Log into Instagram from a web browser
- Go to your profile
- Click Edit Profile
- Select Privacy and security
- Click Request Download
- Click Next to confirm your email address and chosen information format
- Enter your password and click Request Download
- Once you receive the email, click Download Information
- Click Download Information
- Head to the Messages folder to see an archive of your chats
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1Log into Instagram from a web browser
You can’t use the Instagram iOS or Android app to recover deleted messages, so you’ll need access to a web browser.
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2Go to your profile
Click on your profile picture in the top right corner of the Instagram page and click Profile.
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3Click Edit Profile
You’ll find this directly next to your Instagram handle.
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4Select Privacy and security
In the panel on the left side of the screen, you’ll see multiple settings options to choose from. Select Privacy and security towards the bottom.
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5Click Request Download
You’ll need to scroll down to the Data download section, which is towards the bottom of the screen.
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6Click Next to confirm your email address and chosen information format
Make sure that HTML is selected, as shown here, if you just want to view your data and not import it into other services.
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7Enter your password and click Request Download
Remember, it may take up to 48 hours to receive your download link in your emails. Having said that, ours only took an hour and a half to arrive.
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8Once 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.
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9Click 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.
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10Head 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 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.
If you’ve accidentally deleted any posts, reels or stories, you can easily recover them by heading to Settings and Recently Deleted on the iOS or Android app. Just make sure to do so within 30 days for posts and reels, or within 24 hours for stories to ensure you don’t lose them.
