How to See Deleted WhatsApp Messages on Samsung Phones
Samsung phones can read deleted WhatsApp messages using a feature built into One UI — but it's buried a level deeper than on stock Android, which is why most people assume their phone doesn't have it.
Where Samsung hides notification history
On a Pixel it's Settings → Notifications → Notification history. On Samsung:
Settings → Notifications → Advanced settings → Notification history
Toggle it on. On some One UI versions the path is Settings → Notifications → More → Notification history, and on older builds it may be absent entirely — Android 11 is the minimum.
It's not retroactive. Enable it now; it does nothing for a message deleted before you switched it on.
Reading a deleted message
Once a chat shows "This message was deleted":
- Swipe down twice to fully expand the notification panel
- Tap History at the bottom of the panel — or go via Settings → Notifications → Advanced settings → Notification history
- Find the WhatsApp entry at the time it arrived
The chat bubble is grey. The log entry was written on arrival and never updated.
Samsung's extra: the Edge panel
One UI has a second, less-known option. The Apps edge / Notification edge panel can retain recent notification content in its own panel, separate from the system history.
Settings → Display → Edge panels → Panels
It's not designed as an archive and retention is short, but on some One UI versions it holds items the main history has already cleared. Worth a look if you're just past the 24-hour boundary.
Samsung's Good Lock module
Samsung's Good Lock suite (available in the Galaxy Store in supported regions) includes NotiStar, a module that keeps a much longer notification log than the built-in history — often weeks rather than a day.
This is meaningfully better than a third-party app for one reason: it's first-party Samsung software. You're not granting notification access to an unknown developer with an unclear business model. If you're on a Galaxy device and want longer retention, this is the version to use.
Setup: install Good Lock from the Galaxy Store, then install the NotiStar module inside it. Availability varies by region and model.
Samsung-specific gotchas
Aggressive battery optimisation. Samsung's power management is more aggressive than most. If WhatsApp is put to sleep, messages arrive in batches when the app wakes — and notifications may be suppressed, meaning nothing is logged. Check Settings → Battery → Background usage limits and make sure WhatsApp isn't in "Sleeping apps" or "Deep sleeping apps".
Secure Folder. If you run a second WhatsApp inside Secure Folder, its notifications are isolated. The main notification history won't contain them.
Dual Messenger. Samsung's dual-app feature creates a second WhatsApp instance. Its notifications appear separately, so check you're looking at the right one.
Samsung's local backup files
Independent of notifications, and more powerful. Android keeps about seven days of dated local backups:
Internal storage → Android → media → com.whatsapp → WhatsApp → Databases
Use My Files (Samsung's built-in file manager) to browse there. Restoring a specific day means
renaming the dated file to msgstore.db.crypt14 before reinstalling WhatsApp — the full method is
in recovering deleted WhatsApp messages.
What none of this fixes
Every method above is tied to one handset, expires within hours or days, and covers text only. Fine for "what did that say" — useless for a business.
If the deleted message was a customer messaging your business number, notification history gives you a truncated preview for a day, on whichever phone was logged in. The colleague handling that customer tomorrow sees a grey box.
For business numbers
When a number is connected to a platform that stores messages server-side on arrival, the message is saved when it's delivered. A later "delete for everyone" instructs the phone — it can't reach the stored copy.
In Tenashi, the message stays in the conversation tagged "Deleted on WhatsApp": full text, media included, searchable months later, visible to the whole team. No notification permissions, no battery-optimisation gotchas, no dependence on which Galaxy model you're holding.
Scope: chats with your own connected business number, from the date you connect it.
Tenashi also runs the shared inbox, chat assignment and CRM on that same number.
Pricing is flat, from $18/mo.
Get started → · See every feature
FAQ
Where is notification history on Samsung?
Settings → Notifications → Advanced settings → Notification history. Some One UI versions use Settings → Notifications → More → Notification history. It requires Android 11 or later and only records from the moment you enable it.
Does Samsung keep notifications longer than other Android phones?
The built-in history is similar — roughly 24 hours. Samsung's Good Lock suite includes NotiStar, which retains notifications far longer, and it's first-party software rather than a third-party app demanding notification access.
Why is my Samsung notification history empty?
Either it was enabled after the messages you're looking for, the log has cleared, or WhatsApp is being put to sleep by Samsung's battery optimisation. Check Settings → Battery → Background usage limits and remove WhatsApp from the sleeping apps list.
Is Good Lock NotiStar safe to use?
It's Samsung's own software distributed through the Galaxy Store, so it avoids the main risk of third-party notification readers — handing an unknown developer access to every notification including banking and two-factor codes. Availability varies by region and model.
Do Secure Folder WhatsApp notifications appear in history?
No. Secure Folder isolates its apps and their notifications, so a second WhatsApp instance there won't appear in the main notification history. The same applies to checking the right instance if you use Dual Messenger.
What's the best option for a Samsung used as a business phone?
Connect the number to a platform that stores messages server-side, so the record doesn't depend on notification settings, battery optimisation or that specific handset. In Tenashi deleted messages stay in the thread tagged "Deleted on WhatsApp" and are searchable by the whole team.
Samsung hides the feature, not the capability. Turn it on today — and if the phone runs your business, move the record off it. Get started.