How to Recover Deleted iMessages on Mac with Four Effective Ways

"I have accidentally deleted contents of an iMessage on a specific contact on my Mac. And after that, all the messages from the person were gone. Is there any way to recover deleted iMessages on Mac? I really want to get the conversations back!"

iMessage is a free instant messaging service from Apple. Along with text messages, iMessage allows you to send unlimited pictures, videos, contacts, etc. to other Apple users anywhere anytime for free. Have you ever accidentally deleted iMessages? Do you know how to recover deleted messages, especially when those messages record some unforgettable memories? When you deleted iMessage text messages by mistake on your MacBook, iMac or Mini, stay calm. Learn carefully how to recover deleted iMessages on Mac with the below four effective solutions.

Is It Possible to Recover Deleted iMessages on Mac

Can you bring back a deleted iMessage? To some degree, yes. Apple provides customers with Time Machine, a comprehensive backup solution to macOS operating systems, which you can find it in macOS Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra, and other versions as well. As long as you turned on Time Machine backup, you can easily recover everything, including the deleted iMessages, from its backup. Meanwhile, the other data sync solution of iCloud backup is also quite helpful in retrieving lost data across platforms. What if the mishap happens and you didn't have a backup at hand? Then grab the last chance of using iMessage data recovery software to recover deleted messages without a backup.

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Next, let's walk you through each guide of how to recover deleted iMessages on Mac one by one.

#1. How to Recover Deleted iMessages on Mac Using iPhone or iPad

Generally speaking, for Mac users who use Apple iPhone or iPad at the same time, the chances of deleted iMessage recovery are greater. Apple users of the macOS system and iOS system are using the same Apple ID, so their received messages and sent messages will show up on every device. When you carelessly lost important messages on Mac, you can try to look for them on an iPhone or iPad. 

#2. How to Recover Deleted iMessages on Mac Using Time Machine 

As long as you back up Mac data regularly with Time Machine, follow these steps to easily recover deleted messages from the Time Machine backup:

Step 1. Sign out all iMessage accounts and quit Messages.

Step 2. Press and hold down the Option key and select 'Go' > 'Library' from the Finder menu bar.

Step 3. Locate the Library section and click on Messages

Step 4. When the messages folder comes up, locate a file with the 'chat.db' name and a date that is before the date the files you are looking for were deleted. 

Step 5. Select the file and click Restore.

Note: This method restores the whole iMessage database and will replace the current database with an earlier version.

#3. How to Recover Deleted iMessages on Mac Using iCloud

To recover iMessages from iCloud:

Step 1. Sign out of iMessage on your Mac and quit the app.

Step 2. Open the Finder.

Step 3. Select Go from the Finder menu.

Step 4. Locate your library.

Step 5. Find a file named [messages] from an iCloud backup date that is before the day the files you are looking for is deleted.

Step 6. Open this messages folder.

Step 7. Click restore.

#4. How to Recover Deleted Messages on Mac Using Mac Data Recovery Software

Can you bring back a deleted iMessage when there is no backup at all? First of all, you need to figure out where the deleted iMessages stored.

By navigating to the ~/Library/Messages folder on your Mac, you will see the Archive folder, Attachments folder, and a file named 'chat.db'. The archive folder contains all your past messages that you have closed or saved, the Attachments folder contains the images, videos, audios, and other files that you have sent or received on your Mac via iMessage, and the file 'chat.db' is the database file where all of your messages are stored.

When you delete a conversation from iMessage on your Mac, the content of the chat.db file is changed but the file still exists on your computer. That's why you can't use data recovery software, which can only recover deleted files, not the deleted content of the file, to retrieve data. (Use Qiling free data recovery software for Mac, and it will be quite helpful if you accidentally deleted the chat.db file on your Mac.)

• Free Download
• Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

Follow three simple steps to get back the deleted iMessage database with Qiling data recovery software:

Step 1. Launch Deep Data Recovery. Choose file types and click "Next" to start.

Step 2. Select the location where your important data & files were deleted and click the "Scan" button.

Step 3. The software will run both quick scan and deep scan and work hard to find as many deleted files as possible on the selected volume.

Step 4. The scan results will be displayed in the left pane. Just select the file(s) and click the "Recover" button to get them back.

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