How To Search Iphone Messages By Date

* This post is part of iPhone Life's Tip of the Day newsletter. Sign Up. *

Are you wondering how to search text messages on your iPhone or iPad to find a specific conversation? We can help! We'll cover how to search through your messages on the iPhone and iPad using the Messages app, search Facebook messages, and search WhatsApp chat. Fortunately, most messaging apps make your text conversations searchable. Let's dive in!

What's in This Article?

How to Find Deleted Messages on iPhone & iPad
How to Search Texts on iPhone & iPad in the Messages App
How to Search Text Messages on iPhone & iPad Using Today View
How Far Back Can Text Messages Be Retrieved
How to Search Facebook Messenger Conversations on iPhone & iPad
How to Search WhatsApp Messages on iPhone & iPad

How to Find Deleted Messages on iPhone and iPad

Many people want to know how to find old text messages on iPhone and iPad that have been deleted. Unlike Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, the Messages app doesn't allow you to archive iMessages. This means if you want to clear out old messages, you have to delete them, and once an iMessage is deleted, it can't be searched.

So even though you can search text messages on your iPhone, you can only search for the ones that haven't been deleted. The same can be said of Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, but you have the option to archive messages, so they'll always be searchable. For this reason, it's important not to delete any text message threads you think you might need to come back to in the future.

How to Search Texts on iPhone & iPad in the Messages App

You can search your iMessages directly in the Messages app. This is the easiest way to do it, although I'll cover one other search method. The screenshots are taken on iPhone, but the process is the same on iPad. Here's how to search in text messages:

Open the Messages app.
Pull down on the screen to reveal the search bar.
Type the name of the person, topic, or keyword that you are looking for.
You'll see the relevant thread(s). You can tapSee All if you want to see more threads or tap the conversation to open it.
You will see your search term within that message.

In older iOS versions, the search function was inadequate, but it has been upgraded and now allows you to search multiple relevant conversations. However, you can also search the Messages app without ever opening the app itself by using your iPhone's search function.

Return to top

How to Search Text Messages on iPhone and iPad Using Today View

Next, I'll teach you how to search through iMessages using Today View, so that you don't have to open the Messages app.

Open the Today View on your iPhone or iPad by swiping to the right from your first Home screen.
At the very top is the Search bar; if you scroll down, it will disappear. Just scroll back to the top, and you'll see it. Tap the Search bar and type either the person or phrase that you're looking for.
Swipe up until you see the Conversations section and tap the text you are looking for.
If you don't see it, see if there's a Messages section containing the text.
If you still don't see it, scroll to the very bottom and check under Search in Apps and tap Search Messages.
You'll be taken to your Messages app, where you may see conversations and links with your search term. You can tap See All to see more results in the respective category.
Tap the correct thread.
You will be brought to your search term within that message.

Pro Tip: A nice feature of iMessages search is the ability to go directly to the phrase you're looking for within the conversation. To learn more about your iPhone, sign up for our free Tip of the Day newsletter.

Now you know how to search messages on your iPhone! Keep in mind that you can only look through present messages, which means if you've deleted a message, it will not show up when you search. If you are wondering how to search for messages in other apps, we will break down how to search for messages in Facebook and WhatsApp next!

Return to top

How Far Back Can Text Messages Be Retrieved

Many people want to find out how to find old messages on iPhone, but they aren't sure how old is too old. There are several factors to consider here. As I already mentioned, you can only search old text messages that haven't been deleted yet, since Messages doesn't let you archive texts. But even if you don't actively delete messages, your iPhone may be deleting them for you. To check this:

Open Settings.
Tap Messages.
Under Message History, tap Keep Messages.
Here you can pick between 30 days, 1 year, and Forever. Keep in mind that if you select Forever, you may fill up your storage with old texts.

Some people ask if you can search iMessages by date? Unfortunately, there is no good way to do this on iPhone or iPad at the moment. But your messages should be listed in order by date sent or received so that can help you narrow down your search.

Return to top

How to Search Facebook Messenger Conversations on iPhone & iPad

A Facebook conversation search is easy and can be done within the Facebook Messenger app in a few easy steps:

Open the Facebook Messenger app.
Tap the Search field at the top of the app. Please note that the Facebook app is redesigned frequently and may look a little different on your phone.
Type in your search term, you'll see several categories where the search term appears. The categories include Messages (conversations with your contacts), Discover (groups and pages on Facebook), More on Instagram (relevant Instagram accounts that you may or may not follow), and More People (people who are not your contacts.)
Tap See More under Messages.
Facebook Messenger will list conversations with the matched search term and how many times it was mentioned. Tap the one you want to see.
You'll see the various sentences where the matched search term was mentioned.
Tap on the relevant one, and you'll be brought to your search term within that message; the search term will be highlighted.

Just like with iMessage, if you click on a result, it will take you directly into that part of the message. Facebook Messenger search does a great job of looking through message threads from all time, including individual and group conversations and messages that were archived.

Return to top

How to Search WhatsApp Messages on iPhone & iPad

WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps on the iPhone. WhatsApp is generally considered to have the best search on the iPhone by reviewers, and like Facebook, it highlights the term you're looking for, so it's easy to find in the thread. As with the other two messaging apps we've mentioned, if you've deleted the message, it won't be available for search. However, if you archived the message, the search will work.

Open WhatsApp and log in if you are prompted.
Go to the Chats tab, unless you are already there.
Locate the Search bar at the top of the screen.
Type the phrase, words, event, or person you're searching for. Messages that match will appear with the search terms highlighted in bold. Tap the relevant message.
You will be taken to the message within the thread and the term will still be highlighted.

Return to top

That's it! You should now be comfortable searching for messages in the Messages, Facebook, and WhatsApp apps! No one wants to search through dozens (if not hundreds) of messages looking for a specific conversation on their Apple device. Fortunately, most messaging apps make your text conversations searchable. Next, learn how to sync messages from iPhone to Mac & iPad.

Master your iPhone in one minute a day: Sign up here to get our FREE Tip of the Day delivered right to your inbox.