WA Folders
Home / Blog

Where did my WhatsApp chat go? How to find and unarchive archived chats

Published

A chat you talk in every week is suddenly missing from your list. You didn't delete it, and the other person didn't block you. Often the chat was archived, by a swipe on the phone or a keyboard shortcut on WhatsApp Web, and it stays hidden even when new messages come in.

Archiving doesn't delete anything. The WhatsApp Help Center says so on every platform's version of its archive page. The chat and its messages are still there, in a separate Archived section.

Find archived chats on WhatsApp Web

At the top of your chat list, click Archived. That opens every archived chat and group.

If you don't see it, type the person's name or the group's name in the search bar at the top of the Chats tab. Archived chats still show up in search, so this is the quickest check when you know who you're looking for.

Two small signs tell you something is waiting in there. The number next to Archived is how many archived chats have unread messages, and an @ appears next to it when someone mentions you or replies to you in an archived group.

Unarchive a chat on WhatsApp Web

  1. Click Archived above the chat list, or search for the chat by name.
  2. Hover over the chat and click the down arrow that appears.
  3. Click Unarchive chat.

The chat goes back to your main list. To archive one on purpose, hover over it and pick Archive chat from the same menu. The keyboard shortcut is Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E on Windows and Cmd+Ctrl+Shift+E on a Mac, according to WhatsApp's shortcut list. If chats vanish while you use keyboard shortcuts, check Archived first.

On Android

  1. Scroll to the top of the Chats tab and tap Archived.
  2. Tap and hold the chat you want back.
  3. Tap the unarchive icon (a box with an up arrow) at the top.

Android also has Archive all chats under Settings > Chats > Chat history. If your whole list is empty, check whether someone used it.

On iPhone

  1. At the top of the Chats tab, tap Archived.
  2. Swipe left on the chat and tap Unarchive.

To bring back several at once, tap Archived, then Edit > Select chats, pick them and tap Unarchive. You can also search for the contact's name, swipe left on the result and tap Unarchive.

Why the chat stayed hidden after a new message

By default, an archived chat stays archived when a new message arrives, and you get no notification for it unless you're mentioned or someone replies to you. That's why archived chats feel like they disappeared.

If you'd rather have archived chats come back on their own when someone writes, turn off Keep chats archived. On Android it's under Settings > Chats. On iPhone, tap Settings (or your profile picture) > Chats. WhatsApp Web follows the setting on your phone.

Archived is not the same as locked or deleted

If the chat isn't in Archived and search can't find it by name, it may be locked with Chat Lock, which moves it to a separate Locked chats folder on the phone, or it may have been deleted. A deleted chat only comes back from a backup made before it was deleted, and restoring one means reinstalling WhatsApp on the phone, so check Archived and search first.

FAQ

Does archiving a chat delete it or back it up? Neither. The Help Center says archiving doesn't delete the chat or back it up. It only hides it from the main list.

Can I mute notifications for an archived chat? You don't get notifications from archived chats anyway, except when you're mentioned or replied to, and WhatsApp says you can't change notification settings for archived chats.

Why is there a number next to Archived? It counts the archived chats that have unread messages, not the total number of archived chats.

Sources