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Whether you’re a business or an individual, you’ve probably used Instagram Direct Messages to stay in touch with friends or answer questions from a potential customer.
Like our emails, our Instagram messages hold a lot of important information, and losing those messages can be stressful.
If you’re wondering, “can I recover deleted Instagram messages?” you’ll be surprised—and happy—to know that there are ways to recover your lost Instagram DMs.
There are three free Instagram message recovery methods I’m walking you through today so you know how to recover deleted Instagram messages.
Let’s jump right in.
Why Would Someone Need to Recover Instagram Direct Messages?
Unlike the text messages that are stored in your iPhone data, Instagram DMs are stored within your Instagram account, off your iPhone.
There are many different reasons why you might want to recover Instagram messages:
- You accidentally deleted an important message thread
- Someone removed their reply to you and you need to have a copy of it
- Your Instagram crashed and you lost your messages
- You have deleted Instagram direct messages that contain important information
- They contain valuable information and for privacy and security reasons, you need them back
Should I Use an Instagram Message Recovery App to View Deleted Messages?
My answer might surprise you, but I don’t think you should use any third-party apps to try and recover your deleted Instagram DMs.
Here’s why.
Instagram has a very selective list of approved third-party apps which doesn’t include any message recovery apps or websites.
This means if you choose to connect yourself to one of these apps to get back your Instagram messages, you run the risk of getting your account banned from Instagram…for life.
Not only that, these apps and websites will have access to all of your messages, is that really something you want?
I didn’t think so…
So let’s dive into three totally safe strategies you can use for Instagram message recovery.
3 ways to recover deleted Instagram messages
Here are three ways to recover deleted Instagram DMs. I recommend trying these recovery methods in the order they are listed, as I have listed them from easiest to most complicated.
Step 1. Ask the Recipient
The easiest way to recover Instagram messages is via the recipient. Messages are a two-way street. If they’ve been deleted from your end, the recipient likely still has copies of the messages.
If you’ve deleted messages on Instagram, the quickest way to get them back is to ask the person on the other end if they can screenshot the messages and send them over to you.
This approach is the fastest way to recover Instagram direct messages, but of course, this isn’t always an option.
If you are unable to ask for deleted messages, you’ll want to move onto strategy #2.
Step 2. View Instagram DMs from your Facebook account
If the above step didn’t work, it’s time to try and access your messages from your Facebook account.
Note: this will only work if your Facebook and Instagram accounts are connected! If you are a business, your accounts will be linked together.
First, head into your Facebook business page.
Along the left-hand side, you will see a link to access your messages:
Click to head into your messages. You’ll find the messages for your personal Facebook page, your business Facebook page and your Instagram stored here.
Click on “Instagram Direct” to view your Instagram messages.
If you aren’t able to retrieve your deleted messages from here, your last option is to download your data.
Step 3. Download Your Instagram Data
If the above steps haven’t worked to recover deleted Instagram messages, your last step is to download your Instagram data.
Your Instagram data contains everything on your account, and usually contains deleted Instagram messages as well.
The only downside is that you’ll need to wait up to 48 hours to receive your data from Instagram, however, this method will help you recover any deleted Instagram messages.
It’s not a guaranteed Instagram message recovery method, however. Instagram states that while they temporarily store things you have deleted, it may not be available in downloaded data.
Although, it’s worth a shot.
First, go to your profile and click on the hamburger settings icon menu located on your profile in the top right corner:
From here, click on “Settings” and then head into “Security”.
Once you are in your security settings, you can click on “Download Data”.
Your data will be emailed to you in a zip file, so enter your email address and then click on “Request Download”.
You’ll have all of your Instagram data (hopefully along with your deleted Instagram direct messages) sent over to you within 48 hours.
How to Prevent Deleted Instagram Messages
Hindsight is 20/20 and unfortunately, if your Instagram messages are gone, it might be too late to retrieve them.
According to Instagram, “deleted messages on Instagram cannot be restored” and if the above methods don’t work, it’s likely you won’t be able to get your messages back.
To avoid putting yourself in this position in the future, periodically download your Instagram data so you can easily recover messages in the future.
Were you able to recover deleted Instagram messages? Which recovery method worked for you? Comment below.
This article may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Dana Nicole is an award-winning freelance writer for MarTech/SaaS who was rated one of the best SaaS writers by Software World. She specializes in writing engaging content that ranks high in search engines and has been featured in publications like Semrush, ConvertKit, and Hotjar.
Dana holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and has over 15 years of experience working alongside national brands in their marketing departments.
When Dana’s not working, you can find her dancing en pointe, cooking up new recipes, and exploring the great outdoors with her two big dogs.
Hlo can u plz recover my dm
Hi Manish, the above strategies can help you recover DMs. I don’t offer DM recovery services so other than the above, I’m unable to help. Best of luck.
I tried all but still i cant recover my messages, is it possible to recover ?
thank you for detailed article. In step 3, after downloading data what do we do ?
since the data downloaded comes in a json format which is not human friendly.
you can upload the data on https://dm-recovery.com and it will process your messages.
how can we recover the permanent deleted messages , from the last information that download doesnt contains the message we require which we have deleted , how can we recover it ?