Can You Restore Deleted Messages on WhatsApp Web in 2025?

Get Back Deleted WhatsApp Web Messages Using Your Linked Phone

WhatsApp Web isn’t a standalone app—it’s a mirror of your phone’s chat history. All messages live on your linked device, so the easiest way to recover deleted chats is to use your phone’s backup. Here are two methods I’ve tested and trusted:

Restore From Your Phone’s WhatsApp Backup

If you have regular backups enabled, this is the fastest way to get your messages back.

Check backup date first: Open WhatsApp on your phone and go to Settings > Chats > Chat Backup. Look at the “Last backup” timestamp—if it’s before you deleted the message, you’re in luck. For example, my client’s deadline message was deleted on Wednesday, and my backup was from Tuesday night, so this method worked perfectly. Uninstall and reinstall app: Delete WhatsApp from your phone, then download it again from the App Store or Google Play. When you verify your number, tap “Restore” when prompted. This process takes a few minutes (depending on backup size) but is worth it. Sync to WhatsApp Web: Once the restore finishes, open WhatsApp Web (https://www.logws-whatsapp.com) in your browser. Ensure your phone is connected to the internet—your recovered messages will sync automatically within seconds.

Use Local Storage on Android to Recover Chats

This method works for Android users who prefer local backups over cloud storage.

Open file manager on phone: Grab your Android device and open a file manager (like Files by Google). Navigate to the WhatsApp folder > Databases. You’ll see files named “msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.db.crypt15” (the number varies by version). Rename the correct backup: Pick a file dated before you deleted the message (e.g., if deleted on March 16, choose March 15). Rename it to “msgstore.db.crypt15” (remove the date). If an existing file has that name, rename it to “msgstore_old.db.crypt15” to keep it safe. Restore via WhatsApp app: Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp. When you verify your number, tap “Restore” from the local backup. Open WhatsApp Web, and your messages will be there. I used this when my cloud backup was outdated, and it saved the day.

Retrieve Messages From Your Browser’s Data For WhatsApp Web

If you don’t want to uninstall WhatsApp on your phone, your browser’s cache or history might have a recent copy of the message.

Find Messages in Browser Cache

Browsers store temporary data from websites—including WhatsApp Web. Here’s how to access it:

Open dev tools in browser: Go to WhatsApp Web and press F12 (or Ctrl+Shift+I) to open Developer Tools. It looks technical, but don’t worry—stick to the steps. Go to Local Storage: Click the “Application” tab (Chrome) or “Storage” tab (Firefox). Expand “Local Storage” and select “web.whatsapp.com” from the list. Search for message keywords: Use Ctrl+F to type a phrase from the deleted message or the contact’s name. If you find the entry, copy the text—this is your recovered message. Note: This only works if you haven’t cleared your cache recently. I used this to get back a quick note from a colleague that I deleted accidentally.

Check Browser History for Chat Sessions

Your browser’s history might have links to specific WhatsApp Web chat sessions.

Open browser history: Press Ctrl+H to open the History tab. Search for “WhatsApp Web” or the contact’s name (e.g., “John Doe WhatsApp Web”). Look for cached chat links: Scroll through results to find the chat session. Chrome saves exact chat URLs—clicking on them might take you back to the chat, or you can right-click and select “View cached version” (varies by browser). Copy the recovered message: The cached page might have the message you deleted. Select the text and paste it into a document. This works best if the message was deleted within the last 24 hours. I tried this when my phone’s backup was missing, and it worked like a charm.

WhatsApp Web Common Questions

> WhatsApp Web is designed as a mirror tool—all message data is stored on your linked phone, not on the web version or WhatsApp’s servers. This is due to end-to-end encryption: messages are encrypted on your phone, so the web version can’t access them independently. Without your phone, there’s no way to retrieve messages because WhatsApp Web needs to sync with your device to display chats. For example, if you log out of WhatsApp Web, all temporary data in your browser is cleared, and you need to scan the QR code with your phone to log back in. This design ensures your messages stay private and secure, as only your phone has the encryption keys to unlock them.

> The duration messages stay in WhatsApp Web’s cache depends on your browser settings and activity. Typically, temporary cache data lasts 2-7 days, but this can vary. If you clear your browser’s cache (using “Clear browsing data”) or log out of WhatsApp Web, the cache is deleted immediately. To maximize your chances of recovery, check the cache as soon as you realize the message is deleted. For instance, if you delete a message in the morning, checking the cache in the afternoon is more likely to yield results than waiting a week. Some browsers allow you to adjust cache retention settings, but this isn’t recommended as it can slow down your browser.

> Unfortunately, you can’t recover messages directly from WhatsApp Web if your phone is lost. WhatsApp Web requires your linked phone to be active and connected to the internet to sync chats. If your phone is missing, you can’t log in (since you need to scan the QR code) or access any messages. However, there’s a workaround: if you enabled cloud backups (Google Drive for Android, iCloud for iOS) on your lost phone, you can restore messages to a new device. Once you set up WhatsApp on the new phone and restore from the cloud, you can log in to WhatsApp Web again and access the recovered messages. To prevent this issue, enable daily cloud backups—this way, even if your phone is lost, you won’t lose your chats.

If you tried any of these methods, let me know how it went in the comments! Did you recover your message? I’d love to hear your story.