How long do text messages stay on your phone?

The text messages are stored in both locations. Some phone companies also keep records of sent text messages. They sit on the company's server for anywhere from three days to three months, depending on the company's policy. Verizon holds texts for up to five days and Virgin Mobile keeps them for 90 days.

Do text messages stay on your phone forever?

When you receive and send text messages, they're sent through -- and saved by -- your service provider's data network. Data is then maintained on the phone. Deleting these messages clears them from the visible display, but a small piece of data is still stored temporarily in the device's system memory.

How far back can text messages go?

All of the providers retained records of the date and time of the text message and the parties to the message for time periods ranging from sixty days to seven years. However, the majority of cellular service providers do not save the content of text messages at all.

How long does an android keep text messages?

Tap Settings, Messages, then scroll down and tap Keep Messages (under the Message History heading). Go ahead and decide how long you'd like to keep old text messages before they're deleted: for 30 days, a whole year, or forever and ever. In case you're wondering, no—there aren't any custom settings.

How long do text messages stay on your iPhone?

By default, the iPhone keeps all messages forever (or until you manually delete them). If you prefer, tap "30 Days" or '1 Year." If you do, the iPhone will automatically discard your messages after the selected time period.

How Long Are TEXT Messages Stored on iPhone after Deletion

Do texts delete after a year?

Scroll down to the section labelled MESSAGE HISTORY. Tap Keep Messages. Choose either 30 days or 1 Year. This will delete messages older than one month or one year.

Can old texts be recovered?

Even when you 'permanently' clear messages, you're simply getting the phone to stop listing it in the deleted items folder. You can't recover such texts on the phone itself, but there are plenty of commercially available software packages you can buy that allow your PC to read data directly from a SIM card.

Does Android delete old text messages?

Sometimes, what happens is that your Android device automatically deletes all your text messages. There are reasons why this happens and this guide takes a look into that. It may be you have enabled an option that is deleting your messages.

Does your phone store text messages?

Before you try recovering or saving your Android text messages, the first thing you should know is where text messages are stored on your phone. In general, Android SMS are stored in a database in the data folder located in the internal memory of the Android phone.

How do I see old text messages on Android?

Can police look up old text messages?

Deleted text messages are usually retrievable from a phone, but before beginning the process, law enforcement officers would need to obtain a court order. Once obtained, officers can use mobile device forensic tools (MDFTs) to extract any data from a device, including emails, texts, images and location data.

How long do texts stay in the cloud?

Messages are currently stored for up to 30 days. Note this time period has increased from a prior version of this guide, which stated that messages were queued for up to seven days.

Why are my old text messages gone?

Text messages can disappear from your Android device when you delete them accidentally, restart the device the wrong way, use outdated firmware, activate the delete option for old messages, or upgrade errors and software bugs.

Where is my text message history?

Where do deleted texts go?

The Android operating system stores text messages in the phone's memory, so if they're deleted, there's no way to retrieve them. You can, however, install a text message backup application from the Android market that allows you to restore any deleted text messages.

How do I retrieve text messages from years ago?

Restore Texts from a Wireless Backup

If you are currently using a wireless backup service, check when the last backup was made. If the most recent backup was made before you accidentally deleted the texts, you can restore that backup to your phone and the text messages will be restored to your phone as well.

How do you permanently delete text messages?

To delete a thread, press and hold on the thread you wish to delete from the main messaging menu. A checkmark will appear on top of the photo icon for your texting thread, and another action bar will appear at the top of the display. Next, tap the trash can icon and confirm by tapping 'Delete. '

How long are iMessages saved?

For example, on an Apple device, you can choose to keep messages for 30 days, 1 year or forever.

Are deleted messages gone forever?

“When the messages are deleted, they are not really erased at once, but the space where they are stored is marked as free to restore new data,” Scott explains.

How do I permanently delete text messages so they can't be recovered?

Deleting Texts From Your Android Phone

You can delete individual texts or conversations within your messaging app. For individual texts, hover over the text you want to delete within the conversation and select the trash can icon in the top right corner to delete.

Can someone delete texts from my phone?

No, messages on your phone can only be deleted by you. The sender can delete the messages on their end if they choose to do so.

How do I look at old text messages on my iPhone?

Go to the Messages app. Find the Search bar on the main screen with all the conversation threads. You may need to drag down from the middle of the screen to make it appear. Type the words you remember in the search bar, or use your voice with a tap on the mic.

Are old text messages saved in iCloud?

Any messages currently stored in iCloud are now accessible on your Mac, and any new messages you receive on your Mac will be stored in iCloud. To see Messages stored in iCloud, open the Messages app.

Can phone companies retrieve texts?

So, while you may feel that you have every right to access copies of text messages from your phone, your cell phone provider has an obligation to protect the privacy of the other participant in the conversation. Therefore, in order to retrieve text messages from your cell phone carrier, you must obtain a court order.

Can the FBI see my texts?

A recently discovered FBI training document shows that US law enforcement can gain limited access to the content of encrypted messages from secure messaging services like iMessage, Line, and WhatsApp, but not to messages sent via Signal, Telegram, Threema, Viber, WeChat, or Wickr.