iPhone Data Recovery
 
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How to Find Hidden Or Deleted Messages on iPhone Smoothly? [Full Guide]

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"There is an SMS that once it comes in, I delete it. Today I might have accidentally 'hid' it. Now I don't think I can see texts from that number. I didn't pay attention to the number, so there is no history. Is there a way to recover it?"

- Apple Support Community

Many people may hide their messages to keep their privacy away from others and protect important information from disclosure. The funny thing is that anything you cannot find suddenly becomes significant and useful, especially the once-useless messages you are not sure hidden or deleted on your iPhone.

Our post concentrates on how to find hidden or deleted messages on iPhone. Now that you are here, continue reading the following content to get back your missing messages.

how to find hidden or deleted messages on iphone

Part 1. Why Do You Hide Messages on iPhone?
Part 2. How to Find Hidden Text Messages on iPhone
Part 3. How to Unhide Messages on iPhone
Part 4. How to Unhide Deleted Messages on iPhone
Part 5. How to Find Other Hidden Things on iPhone
Part 6. How to View Hidden Messages on Facebook on iPhone
Part 7. How to Find Secret Conversation History on iPhone
Bonus: How to Hide Messages on iPhone?

Part 1. Why Do You Hide Messages on iPhone?

Everyone has a reason to hide messages, except for criminals or plagiarists. Imagine your friend's birthday is coming and you want to hold him a big party. You may want to keep it a secret surprise. However, living with your partner may easily cause problems.

For example, you accidentally leave your smartphone on the kitchen table, and the birthday friend sitting by the table may suddenly view the incoming party plans, let alone ask to borrow your phone to make a phone call. Then you will surely feel embarrassed when your conversations and schedules are revealed with a few clicks.

Besides, you may also hide or even delete the messages on your iPhone in other cases, including slow performance caused by spam, a quarrel between you and your boyfriend/girlfriend, privacy protection, etc.

Part 2. How to Find Hidden Text Messages on iPhone

The following two methods can help you find hidden messages on your iPhone. However, none of these ways hide your messages actually. You will still see your text messages in the Message app.

2.1 From Unknown Senders

  • Open Message on your iPhone and switch to the Unknown Senders section.
  • Check whether the lost messages are there.

2.2 Using Spotlight Search

The deleted messages are not actually gone for your iPhone. You can search for the keywords of the messages to check the hidden messages on your iPhone.

How do you find hidden text messages on your iPhone?

  • Open Settings > General > Spotlight Search.
  • Enable Messages and type in the keywords of the text message you hope to find.
  • Choose the correct one from the shown conversations.

find messages on iphone via spotlight search

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Part 3. How to Unhide Messages on iPhone

After understanding how to check hidden messages on your iPhone, you may also consider how to unhide messages on your iPhone. The following steps show you how to make your messages visible.

  • Open the Settings app and navigate to the Notifications section.
  • Scroll down to select Messages > Allow Notifications to receive and preview notifications on the screen.
  • Under Alerts, you can choose among Lock Screen, Notification Center, Banners, or select all.
  • Under Options, click Show Previews > Always.

unhide messages on iphone via settings

Read also: You can copy photos and videos from your iPhone to a Dell PC without a hitch. Let's check it out.

Part 4. How to Unhide Deleted Messages on iPhone

Below are four feasible solutions to unhide deleted messages on your iPhone. You can choose the suitable way accordingly.

4.1 How to Find Deleted Messages on iPhone without iCloud via Coolmuster

Assume your text messages disappeared from your iPhone unexpectedly and you don't have a backup of the Message app. You can use Coolmuster iPhone Data Recovery to get back the deleted messages on your iPhone without a backup. Apart from text messages, you can also recover the deleted contacts and export the existing data to a computer.

The highlights of Coolmuster iPhone Data Recovery:

* Recover the deleted and existing contacts and messages from your iPhone to a computer in a readable format like HTML and CSV.

* Export the current notes, reminders, and other data to the computer.

* Restore content from iTunes backup to the computer.

* Preview everything and selectively recover or export the desired items.

* Support iOS 5 to the latest version, such as the latest iPhone 14/SE (3rd generation)/13 Pro Max/13 Pro/13/13 mini and earlier models.

coolmuster iphone data recovery free download

How to read hidden text messages on iPhone?

1. Install and open the software on your computer and tap iOS Recovery to continue.

2. Connect your iPhone to the computer via a USB cable and trust the computer on your iPhone as required.

connect your iphone to the computer via usb

Once connected, you will see the data selection interface. Choose Messages and other data types you want to scan and tap the Start Scan button.

choose the data types to scan

3. After scanning, select Messages on the left panel, preview all the text messages, and check the items you wish to recover. Next, click the Recover to Computer button below to keep them on your computer.

how to find hidden or deleted messages on an iphone selectively

Note: Don't want to lose text messages from your iPhone anymore? You can back up your iPhone messages with five methods here.

4.2 How to Retrieve Deleted Text Messages on iPhone via iCloud Backup

Suppose you have synced all messages to iCloud before deletion. In that case, you can retrieve the deleted messages from iCloud backup.

1. Go to Settings > tap your name > iCloud > iCloud Backup > check whether the last backup time is before deletion.

2. Return to the Settings page > click General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings > Erase Now. Then, please wait until it finishes erasing your device.

3. Set up your iPhone with the on-screen instructions until you reach the Apps & Data screen.

4. Tap the Restore from iCloud Backup option > enter your Apple ID password > choose the latest backup file.

5. Hit Restore to start the process. When completed, check if the deleted messages are back on your iPhone.

retrieve deleted text messages on iphone via icloud backup

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4.3 How to Restore Deleted Texts on iPhone via iTunes/Finder Backup

It works if you have backed up your iPhone with iTunes before and the iTunes backup file contains the deleted messages.

Here's how.

1. Plug your iPhone into your computer and launch iTunes.

2. Choose your iPhone on the top-left corner and click Restore Backup under Summary.

3. Pick the most relevant backup file and hit Restore. If asked, confirm your password.

restore deleted texts on iphone via itunes backup

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4.4 How to Find Deleted Messages on iPhone by Contacting Your Service Provider

If nothing works for your situation, contact your service carrier to get back the deleted messages. Generally, some service providers have a copy of your text messages and contacts. You can sign in to your carrier account or drop a hotline to the service provider. If successful, they will offer useful suggestions you haven't tried yet.

Part 5. How to Find Other Hidden Things on iPhone

Aside from text messages, you can also hide other data like apps, photos, etc., on your iPhone. Given that you have hidden other data on your iPhone, you can find hidden things on your iPhone with the following instructions.

To hide apps on your iPhone:

  • Open App Store and tap your name.
  • Choose Purchased > swipe left an app before tapping Hide.

hide apps on iphone

To unhide apps on your iPhone:

  • Launch App Store and choose your name.
  • Tap Apple ID and verify your password or Face ID.
  • Find and click Hidden Purchases > choose the app you don't want to hide.
  • Press the Unhide button.

To hide photos on your iPhone:

  • Open the Photos app and select the wanted photos.
  • Tap the Share icon > Hide > Hide Photo.

To unhide photos on your iPhone:

  • Run the Photos app and tap the Albums section at the bottom.
  • Choose Hidden under Utilities > pick the desired photos to unhide.
  • Tap the Unhide button.

unhide photos on iphone

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Part 6. How to View Hidden Messages on Facebook on iPhone

Refer to the steps below if you want to find hidden messages on Facebook Messenger before it filters conversations from strangers.

How to see hidden messages on iPhone using Facebook?

1. Run the Facebook Messenger app on your iPhone.

2. Tap Me at the bottom > People > Message Requests, and you will see unread and filtered message requests.

3. Tap the See Filtered Requests option > choose a message > hit Accept to move it to the inbox.

view hidden messages on facebook on iphone

You might need: Do you know how long to back up your iPhone data? And how can you make the backup faster? This article will tell you what you want.

Part 7. How to Find Secret Conversation History on iPhone

You can repeat the following instructions to make your secret conversation visible on your iPhone.

How to see secret messages on iPhone?

1. Go to the iPhone's Settings > Notifications > Messages.

2. Click Allow Notifications > select all or pick one option under Alerts.

3. Scroll down to select Options > Show Previews > tap Always to make the secret messages unhidden.

find secret conversation history on iphone

Bonus: How to Hide Messages on iPhone?

This section teaches you how to hide messages on your iPhone to protect your privacy or ignore boring messages when you are busy. If you are interested, proceed with the directory below. After hiding, the sender's name will no longer display on the screen.

  • Head over to Settings > Notifications > Messages.
  • Select Options > Show Previews > choose Never to block messages.

Besides, you can also use a third-party app to hide the chats on your iPhone or delete the messages after making a backup. Please be careful while selecting the correct third-party apps since most of them may have security issues or trojan files that threaten your privacy.

The Bottom Line

We offer you a comprehensive guide to explain how to find hidden or deleted messages on your iPhone. If the above solutions work for you, please share the tutorial with more needed people. You can also tell us if you encounter any problems with Coolmuster iPhone Data Recovery by leaving a comment below. We will reach out to you as soon as possible.

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