How to Read Old Messages on Facebook

Easily find new and old Facebook messages with this simple guide

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: March 3, 2023

This wikiHow teaches you how to read your old chat messages on Facebook. You can do this from within the Facebook Messenger app, or you can use the desktop Facebook website.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

On Mobile

1
Open Facebook Messenger. This app resembles a white bolt of lightning on a blue background.
- If you aren't signed into Messenger, type in your phone number, tap Continue, and enter your password.
2
Tap Home. It's a house-shaped tab in the bottom-left corner of the screen.

Advertisement
3
Tap a conversation. Older messages will be further down the page, so you may have to scroll down.
4
Scroll up through your messages. The further up the page you scroll, the older the messages are.
5
Tap a message you want to read. This will open it, allowing you to read it.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

On Desktop

1
Go to Facebook's website. Go to https://www.facebook.com in your preferred browser. This will load your News Feed if you're already logged into Facebook.
- If you aren't already logged into Facebook, enter your email address (or phone number) and password before continuing.
2
Click the Messenger icon. It's a speech bubble with a lightning bolt icon that's in the upper-right side of the Facebook window. A drop-down window will appear.
3
Click See All in Messenger. This link is at the bottom of the drop-down window.
4
Scroll down through your conversations. Conversations will be listed in chronological order, so older ones will be toward the bottom of the page.
5
Click a message you want to read. Doing so will open it, allowing you to read it.
6
Scroll up through the conversation. The further up the conversation you are, the older the messages are.
7
Click Settings
. It's in the upper-left side of the Messenger window. Doing so prompts a drop-down menu.
8
Click Archived Threads. This option is in the middle of the drop-down menu.
9
Review your archived messages. Any messages that you archived will appear here. If you can't find an old message in your inbox, it may be on this page.