If you have lost important messages in the past, whether on Kik or a different Instant Messaging application, you already know that the experience can be frustrating. Knowing how to recover Kik messages can lessen the frustration.
Contrary to what most people think, it is possible to recover Kik messages. In this article, we will focus on showing you how to recover Kik messages after logging out. We will also show you how to recover deleted Kik messages.
The Number of Kik Messages Your Device Can Store
If you are not very familiar with Kik, you may wonder where are Kik messages stored Android and on iOS. In this section, we will be answering this question.
If you have not logged out of Kik or deleted Kik, your chat history should be saved on your device. The number of messages stored on your device will vary depending on whether you are using an iOS device or a device running on Android. Below, we have the number of messages stored on both devices:
On iOS Devices
- For all the chats you have had in the past 48 hours, you will be able to see a maximum of 1000 messages.
- For older chats (chats you had over 48 hours ago), you will see the last 500 messages.
On Android Devices
- For your most recent chats (the chats you’ve had within the last 48 hours), you will be able to see the last 600 messages.
- For older chats, you will have access to the last 200 messages.
How to Recover Kik Messages
1. Contact the People Who Sent You the Messages [Both Android and iOS]
This is the most straight forward way of recovering lost Kik messages. However, it will only work for you if you intend to recover a few messages. If you reach out to the people who had sent you the messages you lost, the people may resend the messages. This can solve your issue.
2. Restore Your Most Recent iTunes Backup to Get Your Kik Messages Back [iOS Devices]
If you had created a backup on iTunes before you lost your messages, you can recover Kik messages by restoring the backup. One thing you should note is that all the data you had created on your iPhone after creating the backup will be lost. The backup will overwrite everything you have on your iDevice.
To learn how to recover deleted Kik messages by restoring your iTunes backup, follow the steps outlined below:
Step 1: Launch iTunes on the computer you used when backing up your iPhone.
Step 2: Using a USB cable, connect your iPhone to the computer. If prompted, select Trust This Computer to proceed.
Step 3: When your iDevice appears on iTunes, select it.
Step 4: Choose Restore Backup in iTunes.
Step 5: Look at the date and size of the backup files. Pick the most relevant backup file.
Step 6: Tap Restore and wait for the restore process to finish. If your backup is encrypted, you may be asked for a password. Enter the password you created when encrypting the backup.
3. Restore Your iDevice from an iCloud Backup [iOS Devices]
If you create iOS device backups on iCloud, there is a chance that one of your iCloud backup files has the messages you lost. To get back your messages, you will need to restore your iPhone from the backup file. Similar to restoring the iTunes backup, you will lose all the data you had generated on your iDevice since creating the iCloud backup.
To learn how to recover Kik messages after logging out by restoring your iCloud backup, follow the steps outlined below:
Step 1: Reset your iDevice back to factory settings. To do this:
- Open Settings > General > Reset.
- Tap Erase All Content and Settings.
- If prompted for a passcode, enter it and then confirm that you would like to erase all your content and settings.
Step 2: Follow the setup steps on your iPhone to the Apps & Data screen. Choose Restore from iCloud Backup.
Step 3: Sign in to iCloud using your Apple ID and password.
Step 4: Select a backup. Look at the date and size and then choose the most relevant backup.
Step 5: If you had purchased App Store and iTunes content using more than 1 Apple ID, you may be asked to sign in to different Apple IDs. If you cannot recall the password, simply tap Skip this Step and sign in later.
Step 6: Stay connected to the Wi-Fi until the backup restore process finishes.
4. Use a Third-Party Tool to Extract Only the Kik Messages from iTunes and iCloud Backups [iOS Device]
As noted earlier on, restoring your backup directly via iCloud or iTunes will erase all your data from your iPhone. You will end up losing the data you had created after the backup creation. To avoid this, you can use a third-party tool to extract your Kik messages only.
There are a number of third-party tools you can use. After reviewing all the appealing tools and choosing one, all you will have to do is launch the tool and follow the onscreen instructions.
5. Use a Third-party Tool to Extract Deleted Messages from Your iPhone [iOS Device]
If you hadn’t created a backup before losing your Kik messages, it might appear as if recovering your messages is 100% impossible. This, however, is not the case.
When you delete something on your iPhone, your iPhone simply labels the space occupied by the deleted data as free. However, the file will still be available on your iDevice. The file will disappear completely if it gets overwritten by a different file. Data gets overwritten if you continue using your iDevice after losing your data.
Before the deleted messages get overwritten, you can use a third-party tool to scan your iDevice’s storage disk and recover your Kik messages. A good example of a third-party tool you can use to recover your deleted Kik messages without a backup is iMyFone D-Back. Below, we will show you the steps you need to follow to recover Kik messages using iMyFone D-Back:
Step 1: After installing iMyFone D-Back on your computer and launching it, click Start. Next, select Recover from iOS Device on the left-hand column.
Step 2: Connect your iDevice using a USB cable.
Step 3: On the page that requires you to select the data types you would like to get back, select Kik and then tap Next on the bottom-right corner.
Step 4: Select the Scan option and wait while iMyFone D-Back tries to locate your lost Kik messages.
Step 5: After the scan, preview the Kik messages and then select the ones you would like to get back. Click Recover and then choose the folder where you would like to store your messages.
6. Use GT Recovery to Recover Kik messages [Android Devices]
If you are using an Android device, you can use a third-party tool to get back your Kik Messages. Earlier on, we had answered the question where are Kik messages stored Android. As mentioned earlier on, the messages are stored on your device. Similar to iDevices, if your deleted messages have not been overwritten, you can get them back. All you will need is a data recovery tool.
GT Recovery is an Android Recovery tool that has managed to get nice comments from previous users. You can try the tool to see if it can work for you. To learn how to recover deleted Kik messages on Android device using GT Recovery, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Download GT Recovery from the official website or from the Google Play Store. Launch the application and give it superuser rights.
Step 2: On the application interface, you can select the types of data you would like to restore. Make sure you select Kik on the interface before proceeding.
Step 3: Click Next. The application will start analyzing the data types you selected in step 2 above. After the analyzation, tap Scan Device. The app will try to locate the deleted data.
Step 4: After the scanning, select the deleted Kik messages and then tap Save to get the messages back.
Note: GT Recovery will only work on your Android device if the device has already been rooted.
Summary
If you have lost your crucial Kik messages, you shouldn’t be frustrated. You can get the messages back pretty easily. This article shows you how to recover Kik messages after logging out and how to recover deleted Kik messages.
It is worth noting that if you deleted your messages without a backup, you can only hope that the deleted messages haven’t be overwritten. If your messages have already been overwritten, getting the messages back may be impossible. Currently, there is no tool you can use to recover overwritten data.