A few months ago, WhatsApp introduced a much-requested feature which allows the user to delete sent messages in a group. The feature is very helpful for users who might have accidentally sent a text to a group which was not supposed to be sent. Luckily, We can now delete a message which was already sent to a group and no one in the group will be able to read it. But it seems the much-requested feature is not completely safe as someone has already discovered a way to read deleted WhatsApp messages on Android. If an incoming message had generated a notification on the phone and it was deleted later by the other person, you can still recover it from the notification log of your device. However, if the notification was cleared or you were in the chat when the message arrived, you cannot retrieve the deleted message.
Android Notification Log
- Go to the Home Screen on your Android phone.
- Tap and hold somewhere in the free area on the screen.
- Tap widgets, and find the Settings widget on the list.
- Now, tap and hold the Settings widget and place it anywhere on the home screen. A list of available options would appear next.
- Scroll down and select Notification Log.
- Now, tapping that new Settings icon on the Home Screen would show Android notifications from the past and also the deleted WhatsApp messages which were displayed as notifications.
Notification History App
For this method to work you will need to install Notification History app from the Google Play store. After you have installed the application, open the app and look for a WhatsApp icon to be able to see those deleted messages. There are many similar apps that you can do so.
Few limitations:
- These methods only work with Android 6 (Marshmallow) or higher.
- You can only view about 100 characters of the message.
- If the notification log has been erased, then you will not be able to retrieve the messages.
- The notification log saves message only for a few hours. After that, the message cannot be recovered.
- Only text messages can be recovered. You cannot recover images or videos.
The option to delete a WhatsApp text might be helpful to you. But this doesn’t mean you can just turn off your brain while using the instant messaging service. The other person also has those seven minutes, which are enough. What if he turns off his internet connection after you sent a message?
Further, it might be the case that the recipient isn’t running the version of WhatsApp which supports the delete functionality. In that situation, you won’t be able to undo your sins.
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