How Long Do Apps Keep Messages?
Most apps keep a conversation only on the phones in it, and several let the other person delete messages for both sides. Apps rarely hand message content to anyone but law enforcement, so the copy that counts in a family case is usually the one you save yourself. Here is each app in one line, from its own help pages; each guide has the details and the sources.
iPhone (iMessage and SMS)
Keeps: Forever, unless Keep Messages is set to 30 days or 1 year.
Deleting: Recently Deleted keeps messages up to 30 days; an iMessage can be unsent within 2 minutes.
Android (Google Messages, Samsung)
Keeps: Until someone deletes them; the carrier keeps only a log.
Deleting: A deleted conversation sits in Trash for 30 days, then it is gone.
Keeps: Not on its servers once delivered: copies live on the phones and their backups.
Deleting: Delete for everyone works for two days and leaves “This message was deleted.”
Facebook Messenger
Keeps: Until someone deletes them, unless disappearing messages are on.
Deleting: Deleted for everyone is gone for good; the download only shows something was deleted.
Keeps: Ordinary DMs don’t expire.
Deleting: Deleting a chat removes it only for you; unsent messages are left out of your download.
Snapchat
Keeps: By default, 24 hours after everyone has viewed a chat (31 days if never opened).
Deleting: Saved messages stay; a viewed, unsaved message generally can’t be recovered.
Telegram
Keeps: In its cloud until deleted; secret chats never are. Inactive accounts go after 18 months.
Deleting: Either person can delete any message for both sides, with no trace.
Signal
Keeps: No readable copy: only on the devices, until deleted or a timer (up to 4 weeks) runs out.
Deleting: The sender can delete for everyone within 24 hours.
Discord
Keeps: As long as the account exists; inactive accounts may go after two years.
Deleting: A deleted message disappears for everyone; your data package holds only your own messages.
Viber
Keeps: Deleted from its servers once delivered (14 days if undelivered).
Deleting: Either person can delete their messages for both sides at any time.
TikTok
Keeps: No fixed period: “as long as necessary,” per its privacy policy.
Deleting: Your data download is available for only 4 days once ready.
Google Voice
Keeps: A personal account keeps texts until you delete them.
Deleting: A deleted text can’t be opened again; work accounts can delete on a schedule.
Verizon (carrier records)
Keeps: Usage you can download covers about 3 months; bills go back up to 10 years.
Deleting: Carrier records show dates and numbers, not what was said.
What to do before anything disappears
- Export the whole conversation now, from the app itself, and keep the file as it is.
- Restore anything in Recently Deleted or Trash first; an export only has what is still on the phone.
- Screenshot what the export can't hold (disappearing chats, the other person's side where the app keeps only yours).
- Don't delete your own side once a case is likely.
Step-by-step export instructions for every app are in the export guides and the export steps tool.
Deleted messages and records
Does Exporting a Chat Include Deleted Messages?
What each app’s export shows where a message was deleted.
Can Deleted Text Messages Be Recovered?
Where a deleted message may still exist, and the routes worth trying.
Deleting Text Messages During a Custody Case
Why not to delete your own side once a case is likely.
Can You Get Text Messages From Your Phone Carrier?
Carriers keep a log of texts, not the words.
How to Back Up Text Messages Online
iCloud, Google and SMS Backup & Restore, and which one gives you a file.
General information, not legal advice. Apps change these features; each guide lists the pages it was checked against and when. Verity is not affiliated with any app named here.
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