Top 16 How Long Do Deleted Texts Stay On Android The 125 New Answer

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Are deleted texts stored on Android?

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 long are deleted text messages saved?

Phones used by average people on major networks like Verizon and AT&T (the carriers who support the iPhone) only keep text messages for a few days. AT&T for instance, only keeps a deleted text message for 72 hours. Verizon keeps deleted SMS messages for up to 10 days.

How far back can text messages be recovered?

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 far back can text messages be retrieved on Android?

Most newer Android devices will let you view all your text messages but older models may limit you to viewing just the last 30 days’ worth of messages. What is this? In some instances, you can delete messages as old as 3 months. In some other carriers, you can go beyond 6 months.

Are deleted text 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 from my Android?

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 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.

Where do texts go when you delete them?

Once you delete the message, your Android device changes the space it occupied as “unused” and only overwrites the deleted messages when you create new data as you continue using your device. There’s no specific duration or period of time it takes before the deleted messages are overwritten.

Can you recover old deleted text messages?

Restore Deleted Text Messages With a Backup

If you have enabled Google Drive backups on your Android phone, you can restore your backup to recover the deleted text messages. The main caveat with using this method is that, to restore your backup, you will have to reset your phone to the factory settings.

Are all text messages saved somewhere?

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.

Can you recover deleted texts on Android without backup?

Download the Undeleter Recover Files & Data app from the Android app store. Tap on Restore File or the Restore Data option. Select the application to restore the data from. In this case, tap on Messages since you want to restore a text message.

Are deleted messages stored on phone?

Deleted messages are stored in your Android phone’s internal memory. This is why once they’re fully deleted, you usually cannot retrieve them. However, you can create backups using apps such as Samsung Cloud or an app like SMS Backup and Restore, so you can restore your deleted text messages.

How can I retrieve deleted text messages from Android not backed up?

Restore via third-party apps
  1. Download the Android Data Recovery app on your PC.
  2. Now, connect your device to the computer and enable USB debugging.
  3. Now, on the screen, select ‘Messages’ and click on ‘Next’.
  4. Then, install the FonePaw app on your smartphone using the Android Data Recovery program.

What happens to deleted text messages?

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 to Recover Deleted Text Messages on Android? [3 Ways]
How to Recover Deleted Text Messages on Android? [3 Ways]


Retrieving Texts From the Android Recycle Bin | Small Business – Chron.com

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Retrieving Texts From the Android Recycle Bin | Small Business - Chron.com
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Retrieving Texts From the Android Recycle Bin

1. Unlock your Android device and open the application launcher. Find the Market icon and tap it to launch the Android Market. Touch the magnifying glass to open the search bar and then type “SMS Backup” and press “Enter.” Tap the name of the app you want to use, for example, SMS Backup & Restore by Techvision, SMS Backup & Restore by Ritesh Sahu and SMS Backup. Tap the blue “Download” button and then tap “Accept & Download.” When the application is installed on your device, touch “Open.”

2. Tap the “Backup” button in SMS Backup & Restore by Techvision to create the initial backup of your SMS message. Later, if you want to retrieve a deleted text message, launch the app and tap “Restore.” Any new messages that you receive from the time you made the backup until the time you restored it will be lost.

3. Press the “Backup” button in SMS Backup & Restore by Ritesh Sahu to create the initial backup file. Tap the “Restore” button to bring back the text messages you backed up. Touch the “Gear” icon in the menu bar at the top of the screen to access the preferences. There you can choose to only backup selected conversations. You can also set the app to keep a continuous record of your text messages by archiving new texts as they come in, that way your backup is always current.

How Long Does an iPhone Store a Deleted SMS?

If you’re missing an important text, don’t panic. It may not necessarily be gone for good. Image Credit: Michael Nagle/Getty Images News/Getty Images

SMS (short message service) messages are more commonly known as text messages. Even though you may think that deleted text messages are gone for good, this isn’t necessarily so. Deleted SMS messages are stored in the iPhone itself, as well as on the network. But this isn’t permanent. Time is of the essence when retrieving deleted SMS messages on the iPhone.

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What Happens to Deleted Texts

iPhone Image Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News/Getty Images

When a text message is deleted on the iPhone, it doesn’t disappear permanently. First, a copy of it is sent to the network provider. Next, the copy in your phone isn’t permanently deleted, but rather marked as “deleted” by the iPhone’s internal database. Even though you see the message as “deleted,” it has actually just been moved to a less accessible region of the phone’s memory. However, not even this is permanent, and the message will be automatically deleted later. The exact length of time that the iPhone will keep a deleted SMS in its memory can’t be precisely determined. However, it will vary, depending on one major factor.

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How Long Texts Stay On the Network

iPhones Image Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images News/Getty Images

In 2008, Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick found out the hard way that network providers keep track of deleted text messages. His flirty and explicit messages with one of his aides were used against him in a trial for obstruction of justice and misconduct in office, among other things. But his phone, as well as his aide’s phone, were equipped with special devices, because Kwame and his aide were government officials. Phones used by average people on major networks like Verizon and AT&T (the carriers who support the iPhone) only keep text messages for a few days. AT&T for instance, only keeps a deleted text message for 72 hours. Verizon keeps deleted SMS messages for up to 10 days. In order to view these messages though, you must get a court order. They can’t be accessed by the general public at a moment’s notice.

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How Long Texts Stay On the Phone

iPhone Image Credit: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images News/Getty Images

How long your deleted SMS messages will stay on your phone depends primarily on how often you use the SMS service. If, for instance, you text a lot, then the deleted SMS messages won’t be around for as long. This is because the “deleted” messages that are stored in the iPhone’s memory get deleted in order of oldest SMS to newest SMS. The memory that houses the “deleted” texts is finite, and it cleans itself out in order to make room for new messages. The good news for iPhone users however, is that the iPhone tends to store deleted text messages longer than other phones, according to Jesse Lindmar, Assistant Director of Computer Forensics at Sensei Enterprises. He states that messages up to two years old can be recovered, although this happens rarely. More often, the texts must be a year old or younger to be retrieved.

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Recovery Methods

Recover your iPhone text messages Image Credit: George Doyle/Stockbyte/Getty Images

There are a few different recovery methods for recovering deleted iPhone text messages. The first, and simplest, is to perform a restore on your iPhone from a previous backup. This can be done in iTunes, but it will only retrieve texts that were deleted between the last time you synced your device and now. Don’t sync your iPhone with iTunes when you connect it to your computer. Otherwise, all of your texts from the previous sync will be deleted. Another method is to use a SIM card spy tool. This can be used with the AT&T iPhone, because it stores its deleted SMS messages on the SIM card. However, the Verizon iPhone is incompatible with a SIM card spy tool, because Verizon doesn’t use SIM cards in their iPhones. A method that works with both carriers is jailbreaking your device, and then downloading a text recovery app from Cydia, such as “Undelete SMS.” However, jailbreaking your device voids your iPhone’s warranty. A safer method is to pay a professional to have your iPhone text messages recovered for you. Take your iPhone in to a computer forensics lab near you, and request that your deleted SMS messages be recovered. There’s often a fee for this, but it works for Verizon iPhones, as well as AT&T iPhones, and is safer than jailbreaking your device.

Cell Phone Forensics: Powerful Tools Wielded By Federal Investigators

Cellular phone forensics company Cellebrite recently gained national notoriety for its rumored assistance in cracking the password of an iPhone related to the San Bernardino murders. What many practitioners don’t know is that the FBI, DOJ and the SEC have been using Cellebrite’s forensic cell-phone cracking tools for years. While the use of its products to get past passcodes might have garnered more public acclaim, one of the other less well known features is its ability to speedily uncover information that might have been previously unrecoverable, including deleted data and text messages.

A. The Text of Texts Are Often Only Available On The Device Itself

Cellular service providers retain records of the parties to a text message and the date and time it was sent. They do not, however, retain the content of text messages for very long, if at all.

In 2010, the American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) served a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request to the Department of Justice seeking an internal memorandum regarding the data retention plan of major cellular service providers. The memorandum contained information from the six largest cell phone carriers in the United States: Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T/Cingular, Sprint, Nextel and Virgin Mobile. 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. As of 2010, Verizon Wireless saved text message content for three to five days while Virgin Mobile retained text message content for ninety days but stated that it would only disclose that content if law enforcement had a search warrant containing a “text of text” request. As recently as November 25, 2015, T-Mobile’s privacy policy indicated that it retained “calls and text messages you send and receive (but we do not retain the content of those calls or messages after delivery).” Nathan Freitas, a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University explained that the carrier may have “details of whom [was]texted and when” but “the actual text is what is really hard to get, if not impossible” from the carrier. The Boston Globe reported that carriers, including the four biggest in the country ‑ AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint ‑ have publicly confirmed that they delete their copies of messages after delivering them.

Legislators have resisted attempts to force retention of content. Indeed, various law enforcement groups, including the Major Cities Chiefs Police Association, the National District Attorneys Association, the National Sheriffs’ Association, and the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies, asked the U.S. Senate to force cellular service providers to retain the substance of text messages for at least two years. The proponents sought an amendment to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 to require service providers to retain the substance of text messages. On March 19, 2013, a House subcommittee held a Hearing on this issue. A proponent of increased text message retention plans Richard Littlehale from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation explained:

“most cellular service providers do not retain stored text messages accessible to law enforcement for any time at all. Billions of texts are sent every day, and some surely contain key evidence about criminal activity. In some cases, this means that critical evidence is lost. I am well aware that retention means a cost for service providers. I would urge Congress to find a balance that is not overly burdensome to service providers, but that ensures that law enforcement can obtain access to critical evidence with appropriate legal process for at least some period of time.”

No such bill was passed and presently there is no law explicitly requiring cellular providers to store the substance of their customers’ text messages. However, the text of texts that have been deleted outside of cellular service providers’ retention schedules can still be recovered from one place: the device itself.

B. When Is A Text Message Actually Deleted?

Many experts respond with the answer: almost never. Most phones use “flash memory” which only actually deletes a deleted SMS message when the rest of the device’s data space has been exhausted by new information. Paul Luehr a former federal prosecutor and former supervisor of the internet fraud program at the Federal Trade Commission has explained that “[d]eleted text messages just sit there until they’re overwritten” and “most phone systems operate on a database, and so the data may still be there marked with a flag that says deleted.” Luehr also reiterated the point that in most circumstances in order to recover deleted text messages “you really need to have access to one or more physical devices.”

Cybersecurity expert John J. Carney has opined that simply deleting a text message only hides it from plain sight but “it’s still in there, it’s simply marked as ‘erased’ . . . it’s possible to go in there and collect them.” Moreover, Carney’s interview indicated that, in light of this emerging cell phone forensics technology, “many common methods for intentionally destroying phones do not make text messages and other data irretrievable.” “For example, shattering a device’s screen, breaking its charging ports or on-off switches, crushing it under weight, or submerging it in water are unlikely to wipe out the memory.”

C. Cellebrite’s UFED Device Can Recover Deleted Text Messages

According to computer forensics expert and technology professor Bradley Schatz, most cell phones are “set up to avoid indiscriminately overwriting data, so if you have a lot of spare space on the drive inside your phone, which you will do on a large iPhone, then the device will use that before it writes over or erases previously used space and deleted messages.” As most practitioners generally know, when a user deletes a text message, it is almost always recoverable through the forensic process. That is one key reason why federal investigators and litigants have been asking for the physical cellular phones of targets, witnesses and counterparties. A former Chief of the SEC’s Internet Enforcement office stated: “[t]he key to just about every important SEC investigation nowadays lies in the data that the Staff finds . . . occasionally you have wiretaps or a whistleblower, but generally, the critical smoking gun resides on some device as a byte of data.” Critical for the purpose of electronic data recovery and harvesting, Cellebrite’s principal product, the Universal Forensic Extraction Device (“UFED”), has the ability to recover deleted text messages from cellular phone devices.

Cellebrite’s main offices are located in Tel Aviv, Israel and it is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Sun Corporation, a public Japanese company. According to Cellebrite, its UFED Series is the prime choice of forensic specialists in law enforcement, military, intelligence, and corporate security and eDiscovery agencies in more than 100 countries. The Cellebrite website describes the UFED as a product that “enables physical, file system, and logical extractions of all data and passwords, included deleted data, from the widest range of mobile devices.” Further, a number of testimonial videos explain how law enforcement has been using the UFED during the course of investigations.

One Canadian law enforcement agent described the use of the UFED in a homicide investigation: “one of the cases that comes to mind was being able to recover deleted messages off of a phone that was deleted intentionally by the suspect . . . we recovered not only pictures that were critical to the investigation as well as a week’s worth of text messages that were critical to a serious homicide investigation.”

A detective from Wisconsin reported “the most recent one probably may be a shaken baby case where the suspect ran over his iPhone to try to destroy evidence on the phone we were able to do some physical repair on the phone itself and then use the UFED physical to recover data from the phone and recovered some deleted text messages directly related to the crime.”

A detective on the Sacramento Valley High Tech Crimes Force explained “everybody wants deleted data, and its mostly deleted text messages so I have worked very closely with Cellebrite to have them provide deleted data for us. That was a big thing getting physical data, because that’s what everybody wants, everybody wants the deleted data, we do homicide cases, child pornography [cases], fraud cases, when you’re dealing with high profile cases they want all the data including the deleted stuff.” He further described a homicide investigation where the police discovered a soaking wet iPhone, with a shattered screen, that had been buried and was underground for at least two weeks. When he looked through the phone himself, he found ten text messages and about twenty voicemails. When he used the UFED he recoverd 80,000 text messages and about 20,000 voicemails. “The text messages had the two guys texting each other about the alibi that they were going to tell the police if they got caught.”

In addition to the testimonials, Cellebrite has posted numerous videos online which display the UFED’s ability to disable cell phone passcodes and extract the phone’s data.[1]

According to a study published by the New Jersey Law Journal, the UFED was able to “check a phone for deleted text messages, email, [and]voice mails.” “UFED extracts relevant information from Skype, Google Voice and even Words With Friends, which has a built-in chat client.” “We’ve had so many cases where people were using [Words With Friends] to communicate, thinking it doesn’t leave a trace, but UFED does a really good job of parsing out and making viewable the different data types that these apps store.” Moreover, the device allows the user to pinpoint only those communications between certain parties.

In a case involving the use of the Cellebrite by a Homeland Security agent, a Federal District Court wrote that the agent “examined [defendant’s] cell phone using CelleBrite software, which extracted all data (including deleted data) from the phone.” United States v. Smasal, No. 15-cr-85, 2015 WL 4622246, at *4 (D. Minn. June 19, 2015). “That process took approximately ten to fifteen minutes . . .” Id. The Seventh Circuit explained that by using the UFED it is “possible to ‘mirror’ (copy) the entire cell phone contents, to preserve them should the phone be remotely wiped.” United States v. Flores-Lopes, 670 F.3d 803, 809 (7th Cir. 2012) (citing the Cellebrite website).[2] In order to complete a copy, the cell phone would have to be directly plugged into the UFED. The UFED then creates a forensic copy of all of the phone’s information. It produces a comprehensive report that categorizes the information and makes it relatively easy to understand.

The UFED can also recover deleted Blackberry Messenger (“BBM”) messages, a text messaging application exclusive to Blackberry devices. This ability is critical for investigators because according to Blackberry Support,“[t]he Blackberry Messenger database does not keep permanent records of conversations between Blackberry Messenger users.” “The conversation contents are kept only as long as the conversation is open.” Because of the limited information retained with respect to BBMs they are a communication medium of choice for some criminal organizations. Business Wire reports that “organized criminals in particular have relied on encrypted BBM communications to ‘hide’ their activities from the police” and CNN referred to an Italian crime group, the ‘Ndrangheta, who was reported to have communicated overseas with the Gulf Cartel, a Mexican drug cartel, with BBMs because they are normally difficult to intercept. BBMs have previously been used to hide conversations, but now, the UFED can recover this data.

D. The SEC And Other Federal Investigators Have Been Using Cellebrite’s Technology For Years

Since September 27, 2012, the SEC has been contracting with Cellebrite for its UFED “Ruggedized System.” In 2014, the SEC gave notice of its intention to sole source the UFED with software updates for two option years. The SEC justifies these sole source contracts by explaining that the UFED device can extract a wealth of information from 95% of cell phones with a specialty in extracting deleted information.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) contracted with Cellebrite for the UFED in 2009, 2012 (there were two contracts in 2012), 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 for the UFED. Similarly, the Drug Enforcement Agency purchased Cellebrite tools in 2015 and requested additional devices and training in 2016. Other federal authorities, including the Department of Homeland Security, Army, Navy and Secret Service have also contracted with Cellebrite. In addition, as of July 28, 2015, Cellebrite’s UFED products and applications have been made “available to federal government agencies under NASA’s Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement contract and National Institutes of Health CIO-Commodities Solutions” which allows federal law enforcement agencies to “streamline procurement of Cellebrite’s UFED mobile forensics solutions” without going through the ordinary (and often time-intensive) bidding and procurement process.

Shortly after the SEC’s first contract with Cellebrite, on January 13, 2013, the SEC allowed CNBC into its crime lab and put their cell phone forensics technology on display. According to CNBC “if the SEC shows up with a subpoena asking for your hard drive and your cell phone records you should know that using passcodes and even deleting those files won’t protect your information.” Adam Storch, the COO of SEC’s Enforcement Division took CNBC through its “cell phone room” and explained that they were able to recover data from a cell phone that was purposely disfigured. Also, the SEC typically places the cell phones it acquires in metal boxes that block all outside signals from reaching it “because if we turn the device on and its able to access outside signals somebody could be able to remotely delete files from it, remotely wipe the device, emails or messages could start being sent in and out and what we really aim to do is to maintain the security and integrity of the information the way that we received it initially.” Scott Friestad, the associate director of the SEC’s enforcement division, has revealed that the SEC’s new forensics facility focuses on recovering deleted evidence which has been particularly helpful in insider trading investigations to find communications between tippers and tippees.

The Second Circuit has upheld Cellebrite-related testimony from an FBI Special Agent who “explained his training in the use of Cellebrite technology to retrieve text messages and other data from a cellular phone; described how he used Cellebrite to do so in this case; and testified that he confirmed the results by checking the messages on the phone itself.” United States v. Marsh, 568 F. App’x 15, 17 (2d Cir. 2014) cert denied 135 S.Ct. 111 (2014) (affirming conviction). Reported case law indicates widespread usage of the Cellebrite by law enforcement by various federal agencies as well as state and local police departments. [3]

E. Conclusion

As it turns out, Cellebrite’s so-called “new” space-age devices rumored to have been used in the San Bernardino case have actually been utilized by law enforcement for years. It is important for practitioners to inform their clients as to the sort of information – including previously “deleted” information – that can be recovered from their cellular phones.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odcFWueoaeA (Galaxy); https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-L4T2C9xxA (Samsung Android); https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE_uSkFsSyg (HTC); https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUgmnYChT48 (iOS).

As new phones are released and new phone security applications are created, Cellebrite will have to continue to adapt its product. It is possible that there are certain passcode protections on operating systems that the UFED is not yet able to crack.

[2] A remote “wipe” or “factory reset” occurs when a user remotely deletes information and reverts the cell phone back to its original state, as if it were to be resold.

[3] See e.g., United States v. Reilly, No. 14-cr-146, 2015 WL 4429415 (N.D.Ga. July 20, 2015) (FBI); United States v. Djibo, No. 15-cr-88, 2015 WL 9274916 (E.D.N.Y. Dec. 16, 2014) (United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations); United States v. Smasal, No. 15-cr-85, 2015 WL 4622246 (D. Minn. June 19, 2015) (same); United States v. Martinez, No. 13-cr-3560, 2014 WL 3671271 (S.D.Ca. July 22, 2014) (same); United States v. Nyun, No. 12-cr-40017, 2013 WL 1339713 (D.S.D. Mar. 7, 2013)(same); United States v. Clinton, No. 12-cr-40018, 2012 WL 5185746 (D.S.D Oct. 17, 2012)(same); United States v. Mayo, No. 2:13-cr-48, 2013 WL 5945802 (D.Vt. Nov. 6, 2013)(DEA); United States v. Dixon, No. 12-cr-205, 2013 WL 4718934 (N.D.Ga. Sep. 3, 2013) (Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms); United States v. Tienter, No. NMCCA-201400205, 2014 WL 4716290 (N-M. Ct. Crim. App. Sep. 23, 2014)(United States Marine Corp., Criminal Investigation Division); United States v. Garden, No. 4:14-cr-3072, 2015 WL 6039174 (D. Neb. June 29, 2015)(Nebraska State Patrol); United States v. Winn, 79 F. Supp. 3d 904 (S.D. Ill. 2015) (St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department); United States v. Zaaverda, No. 12-cr-156, 2013 WL 6438981 (N.D. Okl. 2013) (Oklahoma City Police); Foster v. State, No. 05-14-cr-01186, 2015 WL 8039901 (Tex. Crim. App. Dec. 7, 2015) (Collin County Sheriff’s Office); In re D.H., No. A140779, 2015 WL 514336 (Cal Ct. App. Feb. 6, 2015)(San Francisco Police); Washington v. State, No. 2-13-00526-cr, 2015 WL 505172, at *2 (Tex. Crim. App. June 17, 2015)(Lewisville Police Department); State v. Pratt, 128 A.3d 883 (Sup. Ct. Vt. 2015)(Vermont police officers. Noting that “[a]handful of courts have considered testimony regarding the use of the Cellebrite software and have ruled the testimony admissible.”); People v. Smith, 2015 WL 5224708 (Cal. Ct. App. Sep. 4, 2015) (California police officers).

*Joseph Evans is an Associate at Gage Spencer & Fleming LLP

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