How to Recover Deleted WhatsApp Messages | Step by Step Guide

2026-06-04 · 6 min de leitura · E. Ribeiro

Deleting a message by accident is one of the most distressing experiences on WhatsApp. Whether it's an entire chat deleted, an important photo, or that message with information you still needed. The feeling of loss is instant. Before you panic: depending on how much time has passed and your operating system, recovery is still possible. This guide will show you exactly where to start. From the simplest method to the most advanced.

Deleted by accident? Before you panic, know that your phone may have saved a copy of what you need. This guide will show you how to get it back.

How WhatsApp Backup Works (and Why It Matters)

To understand whether you can recover a deleted message, you first need to understand how WhatsApp handles your data. The app creates backup copies of your conversations in two main ways: local backup and cloud backup.

On Android, backups are stored in Google Drive linked to your Google account. The frequency can be daily, weekly, or monthly. You choose in settings. On iPhone, backups go to iCloud. In both cases, WhatsApp also keeps a local backup on the phone's internal storage, which is automatically updated every night at 2 AM.

Here's the key point: messages deleted before the last backup can be recovered. Messages sent or received after the last backup cannot. That's why time is critical: the sooner you act, the higher your chances of success.

Step-by-Step Recovery — by Platform

Android + Google Drive

1. Uninstall WhatsApp from your Android phone
2. Reinstall the app from the Google Play Store
3. During the initial setup, tap "Restore" when WhatsApp detects a backup in Google Drive
4. Select the most recent backup date that still contains the message you lost
5. Wait for the full restoration and check if the conversation was recovered

iPhone + iCloud

1. Delete WhatsApp from your iPhone
2. Reinstall the app from the App Store
3. Connect to iCloud and tap "Restore Chat History" when the backup is detected
4. Wait for completion. Time depends on backup size and your connection speed

Local backup (Android): If the cloud backup doesn't have the message you're looking for, there's still hope. WhatsApp keeps local backup files in the WhatsApp/Databases folder on your phone. The msgstore.db.crypt file is the most recent backup. You can rename an older file (like msgstore-2025-12-31.1.db.crypt) to msgstore.db.crypt and attempt manual restoration.

What If There's No Backup? Last Resort Options

If you never enabled automatic backup or if the oldest backup no longer contains the message, options are limited. Apps like Disk Digger and Dr.Fone claim to recover data directly from your phone, but results are inconsistent, especially on iPhones with end-to-end encryption. On Android, there's a modest chance if the message is still in the device's local cache.

The lesson is clear: enable daily automatic backup right now. Go to Settings > Chats > Chat Backup and choose "Daily." This ensures that at most, you'll only lose a few hours of conversation in case of an accident.