Have important conversations on Facebook Messenger that you want to save forever? Here are the best ways to back up and preserve your Facebook messages on an iPhone.
Saving Facebook messages on an iPhone lets you create a permanent record of conversations that matter to you.
Maybe it’s the sweet texts from an old friend that always cheer you up when you re-read them. Or perhaps there are important details like addresses or dates in a Messenger chat that you want to refer back to later.
Whatever the reason, archiving your Facebook messages can be worthwhile. But how exactly do you save Facebook messages on an iPhone?
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the top methods for backing up your Facebook Messenger chats and messages on an iOS device.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Why You Might Want to Save Facebook Messages on Your iPhone
- How to Manually Save Specific Facebook Conversations
- Using a Third-Party App to Archive Facebook Messages
- Backing Up All Facebook Data (Including Messages)
- How to Retrieve Deleted Facebook Messages
- Tips for Keeping Your Saved Messages Secure
- FAQs about Saving Facebook Messages on iPhone
By the end, you’ll have a full action plan for preserving the important Facebook conversations that matter most on your iPhone.
Let’s start with why saving Facebook messages can be so useful:
Why You Should Save Your Facebook Messages
There are a few key reasons why you may want to archive your Facebook conversations:
1. Preserve meaningful memories
Facebook Messenger allows you to have rich conversations with photos, videos, voice messages, and more. You may have sentimental chats with close friends or family that capture memories you want to treasure and revisit.
Saving these heartfelt exchanges means you’ll always have access to those moments, even if you deactivate your Facebook account someday.
2. Access important information
It’s common to share key details like phone numbers, addresses, dates/times, or even account info over Facebook Messenger.
By archiving your messages, you have a way to reference this data in the future if you can’t find it elsewhere.
3. Legal record
In certain legal situations, you may need to produce records of your communications. Whether it’s for legal, compliance, or regulatory reasons, having archives of your Facebook messages can be useful.
4. Back up your digital life
For many people today, a significant part of their lives and memories exist digitally. Saving your Facebook messages helps back up this important slice of your digital life.
If anything ever happens to your account, you’ll have copies of your conversations safely stored.
Now let’s explore the ways you can actually save Facebook messages on your iPhone.
How to Manually Save Specific Facebook Conversations
If you just want to save certain special Facebook conversations, the manual approach of grabbing screenshots or saving as PDFs may be best. Here are a couple options:
Take screenshots
Capturing screenshots is quick and easy:
- Open the Messenger conversation you want to save.
- Use your iPhone’s screenshot feature to capture the portions of the chat you want to keep. On an iPhone 8 or earlier, press the Home and Lock buttons simultaneously. On later models like the iPhone X, press the Volume Up and Lock buttons together.
- Your screenshots will save to your Photos app for easy access later. You can screenshot as much of the conversation as you need.
- To keep things organized, create an album in your Photos app specifically for your archived Facebook chats.
Save conversations as PDFs
Another option is saving Messenger threads as PDF files:
- Tap into the conversation you want to archive.
- Tap the share icon in the upper right (it looks like a box with an arrow coming out of it).
- Choose “Print” from the share menu.
- Under printer options, select “Save as PDF” instead of choosing an actual printer.
- You’ll be prompted to name the PDF file and choose where to save it (for example, in your iCloud Drive or Dropbox if you have that app installed).
- Tap Save and the full conversation will be saved as a PDF document.
The benefit of using PDFs over screenshots is it will save the entire back-and-forth conversation in one organized, easy-to-access file.
Use a Third-Party App to Archive All Facebook Messages
If you want to backup your entire Messenger history from Facebook, a third-party iOS app is the easiest way to go.
Here are some top options:
iMazing
One of the best apps for managing and backing up your iPhone content is iMazing. This well-designed app lets you browse and save your messages, photos, contacts, and more.
To use it to save Facebook messages:
- Download and install the iMazing app on your computer and iOS device.
- Connect your iPhone to your computer via USB.
- In iMazing, click the “Messages” module on the left sidebar.
- Select the Facebook Messenger conversations you want to export. You can choose all conversations.
- Click “Export” and save the messages wherever you want on your computer.
iMazing preserves all media and attachments in your chats, along with the text. You can export conversations in HTML or PDF format for easy reading and storage.
iExplorer
Similar to iMazing, iExplorer lets you browse and manage your iPhone’s data through a desktop app. It’s powerful and intuitive for accessing everything on your device.
To save Facebook chats:
- Get iExplorer set up on your computer and connect your iPhone.
- Click “Messages” in the left sidebar.
- Select “Facebook Messenger” and pick the conversations to export.
- Choose a save location on your computer. iExplorer saves chats in HTML format.
Other apps
Some other apps that allow exporting Facebook messages from your iPhone include:
- CopyTrans Contacts (saves to PDF)
- Decipher TextMessage (exports messages to CSV or PDF)
The benefit of using specialized software over manual methods is it enables batch saving your entire Messenger history for safekeeping.
Back Up All Facebook Data (Including Messages)
If you want a comprehensive archive of your entire Facebook presence—not just Messenger—you can download your full account data directly from Facebook.
Here’s how:
- Go to the “Download Your Information” page on Facebook.
- Click “Create File.”
- Deselect anything you don’t want included. Leave “Messages” checked to get your Messenger chats.
- Choose your preferred file format—HTML gives you easily readable files to browse on your computer.
- Click “Create File” again. Facebook will prepare your download archive.
Once ready, they will email you a link to download your data. This comprehensive archive contains your Messenger history, photos/videos, posts, profile info, and more.
Keep in mind Facebook’s download tool retrieves all your account data. If you just want your messages, a specialized app may be easier.
How to Retrieve Deleted Facebook Messages
Uh oh…what if you already deleted a Facebook conversation that you now realize you needed?
If you act quickly, it may be possible to retrieve deleted Facebook messages on your iPhone.
Here are some options to try:
- iMazing: If you have a recent backup in iMazing, you may be able to restore deleted messages from there.
- iCloud backup: If you have an iCloud backup from before the messages were deleted, you can restore from your iCloud backup to retrieve them.
- iPhone data recovery software: A tool like dr.fone can scan your iPhone and extract deleted Facebook messages that weren’t fully overwritten yet. This is your best chance for retrieving deleted chats.
Act fast if you need to restore deleted Facebook conversations—your chances decrease the longer you wait. Avoid adding new data to your phone, as it may overwrite deleted data.
Keeping Your Saved Messages Secure
Once you’ve archived your Facebook conversations, be sure to keep them secure:
- Store them encrypted if possible. Apps like iMazing allow encrypting your backups.
- Use a password manager to generate strong passwords for any apps or cloud services used in saving your messages.
- Enable two-factor authentication wherever possible for an added layer of security.
- Backup your backups in multiple locations in case one fails or is compromised. For example, you could save archives both locally on your computer and in cloud storage.
- Delete originals if no longer needed. If you’re satisfied with your archives, consider deleting the conversations from your live Messenger account for privacy.
With good security practices, you can safely preserve your Facebook memories for years to come.
Note: For people who need to find out how to retrieve deleted Facebook Messenger Messages on Android.
FAQs about Saving Facebook Messages on iPhone
Here are some common questions about archiving your iPhone’s Facebook messages:
How do I save only certain Facebook conversations?
Use the manual screenshot or PDF methods to selectively save individual Messenger threads on your iPhone. This gives you granular control.
Does downloading my Facebook data also get Messenger chats?
Yes, Facebook’s account archive you can request from their site will include your full Messenger history along with everything else.
Is it better to use an app or Facebook’s tool?
For comprehensive backups get your full data from Facebook. But for convenience/flexibility in saving just Messenger chats, third-party iOS apps are preferable.
Is it possible to save Facebook messages automatically?
Some apps may offer automated scheduled backups. Otherwise, enabling iCloud Backup or regularly exporting new Messenger chats manually works.
Will exporting Facebook chats delete them from my iPhone?
Nope, exporting or backing up messages does not remove them from your actual Messenger app or account. It just creates a separate archive copy.
Can I save Facebook messages without an app?
Apps make it much easier, but you can manually screenshot or print to PDF specific conversations as needed without any additional tools.
How do I restore Facebook messages after deleting them?
Your best chance is using iPhone data recovery software to extract deleted Messenger chats before they are fully overwritten. Also restore from an iCloud/iTunes backup if available.
Key Takeaways
Here are the key tips to remember:
- Manually screenshot or save as PDFs if you only need to archive selected important Messenger threads on your iPhone.
- Use a specialized iOS app like iMazing or iExplorer if you want to batch export your entire Messenger history for backup.
- Download your full account data from Facebook if you want _everything—_posts, photos, messages, etc.
- Enable iCloud Backup and/or iTunes backups regularly so you always have archive points to restore lost data from.
- Retrieve deleted Facebook messages quickly using data recovery software if needed.
- Keep your saved chats secure by storing them encrypted, using strong passwords, and enabling two-factor authentication.
By following this guide, you now have multiple solid options for archiving your precious Facebook conversations on your iPhone.
So save those meaningful exchanges and funny conversations that are worth remembering and revisiting down the road! By backing up your Facebook Messenger app, you ensure you’ll always have access to your memorable conversations, even after many years.
