WhatsApp had rolled out the feature just earlier this month. And now, a Spanish blog AndroidJefe has claimed that deleted WhatsApp messages are actually present in the notification log of the device. The report claims that the recipient can easily access the deleted message even if it has been deleted from the sender’s end.
How to read deleted WhatsApp messages
The blog further explains that anyone can access deleted messages sent to them either via the Notification Log on the Android device or via a third-party app called Notification History, which is available on Google Play. After downloading the app, users will have to search WhatsApp in the App’s Notification log and look for the sender’s chat and there in the code, you can find the deleted text. Similarly, a Settings widget can give access to the notification log within the device itself. For stock Android, it is available in the settings. Further, those who are using third-party launchers, the notification log can be accessed without the need for an additional app. They just need to long press the home screen, then Widgets > Activities > Settings > Notification log. It is also to be noted that once you restart your device, the notification log will be cleared. So, the notification log only saves the messages until the device is restarted. There are few limitations as well such as only those messages that have popped a notification on the device can be retrieved. Moreover, it has a restriction that only the first 100 characters of the deleted message can be retrieved via this method. Also, users can only retrieve text messages and any kind of media file cannot be recovered. The feature is available only for users running Android 7.0 Nougat and above. WhatsApp had brought this Delete for Everyone feature a bit later as it was already available on other messaging platforms like Snapchat. It is helpful in such cases when a user sends a message to the wrong chat, or if the message sent contains a mistake. It was one of the most awaited features added to WhatsApp among many other features introduced this year.
