Did you accidentally delete a message and now wondering how to see deleted messages on Discord?
Or are you an admin and want to see all the deleted messages on your server?
This article has you covered.
Like any other messaging platform, Discord gives users the ability to edit and delete their own messages by simply right-clicking on it and clicking ‘Delete’.
Users can edit and delete chat messages in channels and direct messages sent to other users.
Let’s go over a few ways to find deleted messages on Discord.
⚡ What to Know ‣ You cannot see the messages that were deleted before you installed the plugin. However, the bot can still bring the entire server message history. ‣ Users can delete their own messages, but admins and moderators can delete any message.
Can you see Deleted Messages on Discord?
Officially, no one can see deleted messages on Discord, not the user who deleted it nor the admins. This ensures user privacy.
Discord had publically announced that when a user deletes a message, it is removed from Discord servers immediately and is gone forever.
That is the Discord official stance, but there are other ways to see deleted Discord messages.
How to See Deleted Messages on Discord
While Discord does not provide a way or tool to see deleted messages, we can use the following as a workaround.
- Audit Logs – Can only be seen by the admins but does not show the message text. It can be viewed on the desktop and mobile app.
- Discord Plugin – Can be used by anyone and shows all deleted and edited messages. Only available on the Discord desktop (PC) application.
- Discord Bot – Can only be used by the admins and can show all deleted and edited messages. It can be used on both the desktop (PC) and mobile app.
Let’s go through all of them.
See Deleted Messages With a Plugin (Everyone)
You can use a plugin to see your edited and deleted messages on Discord.
Discord does not have any official plugins; therefore, you’ll need to install BetterDiscord.
BetterDiscord is a modded version of Discord that provides additional features, such as plugins, themes, etc.
We have an article on BetterDiscord that answers all your questions regarding it, and also shows the steps to install it.
📋 Note: BetterDiscord violates Discord's policies, and there is some risk (very low) to use it.
Once you have installed BetterDiscord, you can start using plugins. For our purpose, we’ll be using the MessageLoggerV2 plugin that can be downloaded from here.
Step #1: Download the MessageLoggerV2 plugin. The plugin is safe to use, so just click on ‘Keep’ to continue if you are prompted with a warning.
Step #2: Click on the Gear icon next to your name in the bottom left corner and go to the user settings.
Step #3: Click on ‘Plugins’ under the ‘BetterDiscord’ section on the left sidebar.
Step #4: Click on ‘Open Plugins Folder’. This is the folder where the download plugin has to be moved.
Step #5: Move or copy the downloaded MessageLoggerV2 plugin to this folder.
Step #6: You now see the plugin added to Discord. If you are prompted to download other missing libraries, go ahead and download them as well.
Toggle to switch to enable ‘MessageLoggerV2’, ‘XenoLib’ and ‘ZeresPluginLibrary’ plugins.
Step #7: Navigate to the server and right-click on the server name to bring up a menu. Go to ‘Message Logger’ and then ‘Open Logs’ in this menu.
Step #8: Now, you’ll see a window with ‘Deleted’, ‘Edited’, ‘Purged’, and ‘Ghost Pings’ tabs. Click on the ‘Deleted’ tab to see the deleted messages.
If you do not see any messages first, be patient, as this just means that no one has deleted any messages since you have installed the plugin.
You can test the installation by deleting one of your own messages and check whether it shows up in the ‘Deleted’ tab or not.
You might see hundreds of deleted messages every day on very active serves. You can click on ‘Clear Log’ to remove these messages anytime.
See Deleted Messages in the Audit Log (Admins)
This is the official Discord way to see deleted messages on a server, but it is only available to the server admins.
The audit log shows the action and timestamp but does not show the message text.
Step #1: Click on the server name in the top right corner to bring up a drop-down menu
Step #2: Select ‘Server Settings’ from this menu.
Step #3: Click on ‘Audit Log’ in the left sidebar to bring up all the server logs. You’ll now be able to see log entries of when the messages were deleted.
These audit logs come in handy to track all activities on the server but are limited when it comes to seeing deleted messages text.
See Deleted Messages with a Bot (Admins)
As an admin, you’ll find that the audit log is very limited in its function and missing many features.
Thankfully, other users faced the same challenges and have created bots to add features and more functions to Discord.
One of the most popular bots is the YAGPDB (Yet Another General Purpose Discord Bot), and we can use it to view deleted messages.
Another good bot is the Dyno bot, but we’ll go through the steps for the YAGPDB bot only.
Step #1: Go to the YAGPDG site and click on ‘Add to Server’ to get started.
Step #2: You’ll have to log into your account. You can log into Discord using the QR code or provide your email and password.
Step #3: You’ll have to authorize the bot to get details about your Discord account.
Step #4: Select the server on which you want the bot to join on the top right corner. The list will show all the servers that you are an admin on.
Step #5: Click on ‘Continue’ to add the bot to the selected server. You can choose the permissions you want to give the bot and click on ‘Authorize’ to continue on the next screen.
The bot would have been added to your server, and you can verify it by checking the online members’ list and seeing the ‘YAGPDB.xyz’ bot.
Step #6: To see all the logs, type ‘-log’ on the chat window of the server, and YAGPDB will bring up a link. Click on the link to view all the server logs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can you Report a Deleted Discord Message?
You’ll need the message ID or a screenshot of a message to report abusive behavior. Unfortunately, once a message is deleted, there is no way to recover it; therefore, no way to report it.
However, you can use bots and plugins to log all messages and find the deleted message.
You can also ask the admins if they have bots on the server logging all messages and then get a copy from the admins.
We have an article that shows you how to find Discord IDs that walks you through the steps to find message IDs.
Therefore. as soon as you see an inappropriate message get the message ID immediately and take a screenshot.
Can you Recover Deleted Discord Messages?
There is no way to undo or recover deleted Discord messages. Once deleted, the messages are removed from the Discord server, and there is no backup.
However, you can use plugins and bots to see the deleted messages. Anyone can use the plugin, but only the server admins can use the bots.
Can Discord Server Owners see Deleted Messages?
No one, including the server owners and admins, can see deleted Discord messages. This is a privacy feature of Discord.
Even the Discord support team cannot recover deleted messages as they are removed from the servers.
However, you can log the message history and see the deleted messages using plugins and bots.
Can Discord Staff see Deleted Messages?
Once a message is deleted, it is removed from the Discord servers. Therefore, even the Discord staff cannot see these messages.
👋 We cover more such Discord tips and tricks in our extensive Discord guide.
Final Words on Seeing Deleted Discord Messages
Even though there is no official way to see messages once they have been deleted, you now know at least 3 different ways to find these messages.
As a user, your options are limited, but as an admin, you can see more details about all messages on your server, including the deleted messages.
Keep in mind that plugins are against Discord’s terms of service, so there is some risk.
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