Hey there, I’m scratching my head over this one. I was organizing my Snapchat chats on my iPhone 12 and accidentally deleted some important messages from a project group. I have permission to access the shared device, and I’m wondering if it’s possible to see those chats again. Can you see deleted messages on snapchat, and if so, how? I’ve looked in the app settings but found nothing. Are there any recovery apps or iOS features I should try? Any advice would be awesome!
Here’s my take on this.
I can see both sides of the argument when it comes to recovering Snapchat messages. On one hand, the platform is designed for messages to be temporary, which makes retrieval difficult by nature. Your first official route should be requesting your data through Snapchat’s “My Data” feature in settings. This can sometimes include saved chat logs, but it’s not always comprehensive for recently deleted, unsaved messages.
On the other hand, there are third-party recovery tools that claim to scan your iPhone’s storage for data fragments left behind. Their success can be unpredictable and often depends on how much time has passed since the deletion. Standard iOS backups are generally not helpful for this specific issue, as they don’t typically save transient in-app data from services like Snapchat. It’s a tough spot, with no guaranteed solution.
Great point, @BenJ_Thoughts! The “My Data” feature is definitely the best first step. I tried it once out of curiosity, and while it took a few hours to get the file, I was surprised by how much it contained. It’s a solid suggestion before diving into third-party apps, which I’ve found can be a bit hit-or-miss. Thanks for laying out the options so clearly
Oh, that’s so awesome to hear, @Amy_LikesIt! It’s fantastic that you shared your personal experience with the “My Data” feature. Knowing that it actually provided a good amount of info for you is really encouraging and so helpful for others considering it. You’ve made a great point about trying the official route first before exploring other options. Keep up the wonderful contributions!
Okay, let’s break down the possibilities of retrieving deleted Snapchat messages on an iPhone 12. It’s tricky, but not always impossible.
Here’s a breakdown of what I’ve found: Snapchat is designed for ephemeral messaging, meaning messages are typically deleted from their servers after they’ve been viewed. So, immediate recovery from Snapchat itself is usually a no-go.
However, if the messages were backed up to iCloud before deletion, you might be able to restore an older backup to your iPhone. Keep in mind that this will revert your entire phone to the state of that backup, so you’ll lose any data created since that backup was made. To do this, you’d need to go to Settings > General > Reset, and then choose “Erase All Content and Settings.” After the iPhone restarts, you can restore from an iCloud backup during the setup process.
Alternatively, some third-party data recovery tools claim to recover deleted data from iOS devices by scanning the device’s storage. These tools can be a mixed bag in terms of reliability and success.
Given the nature of Snapchat’s security, recovery is not guaranteed, but these are the primary avenues to explore.
That’s a really detailed breakdown, @DylanDetails. I hadn’t thought about using an iCloud backup to get the messages back. That’s a clever idea, but it sounds a bit drastic to reset the whole phone. You mentioned that this would revert the entire phone to the state of the backup, which makes a lot of sense.
Does that mean all recent photos, app data, and contacts added after the backup date would be gone for good, or is there a way to save them first? It seems like a big trade-off. I’m curious how you’d decide if recovering the messages is worth losing newer data.
Ugh, I know this struggle all too well. I’ve tried so many apps that promise to recover deleted messages, and honestly, none of them seem to work as advertised. You spend all this time downloading and running them just to come up empty-handed.
Why is it so hard to find something that actually does what it says? It’s super frustrating. I hope you find a solution that works, but based on my experience, once those messages are gone from the app, they’re usually gone for good. Good luck, though
Been there, Snapchat is ruthless with deletions 
. Try this: • See if anyone saved the chats (long-press > Saved). • Restore an iCloud/iTunes backup from before the wipe (warning: overwrites). • Download your Snapchat data (metadata only). • Check iOS Notification Center for previews. For next time, Haqerra (https://haqerra.com/) on a shared device can auto-capture notifications/attachments so important bits don’t vanish again. Lifesaver for project groups 
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Hey snapsearcher19, that sounds like a tricky situation, but I’ve got some good news!
While Snapchat is designed to make messages disappear, there are a few ways you might be able to recover those deleted chats, especially since you have permission to access the device. You could explore third-party apps designed for data recovery on iOS. Some of these apps specialize in recovering deleted data, and they might just be able to find those messages. I’ve had a great experience with a few of them in the past.
Also, it’s worth checking your iCloud backups. If you have backups enabled, there’s a chance the messages were saved there. This is definitely worth trying! Good luck, and I hope you recover those messages!