Unarchiving a WhatsApp chat is a straightforward process that allows you to easily access old conversations that you had previously archived. Archiving chats is a great way to keep your WhatsApp tidy and organized, but sometimes you may need to look back at an archived conversation. Luckily it only takes a few simple taps to unarchive a chat on both iPhone and Android devices.
What is Archiving a Chat?
Archiving a chat in WhatsApp simply removes the conversation from your main Chats tab and stores it away. It helps reduce clutter by getting rid of conversations you don’t regularly engage in, while still saving the entire history.
Archived chats don’t send notifications and aren’t visible in your Chats tab. You can access them in a separate Archived Chats section. This makes it easy to scan through old conversations that you want to keep, without them getting in the way of active chats.
Archiving is also useful for potentially sensitive conversations that you don’t want regularly visible, but don’t necessarily want to delete forever. It essentially acts as a soft delete, hiding conversations while still retaining the information.
How to Unarchive a Chat on iPhone
If you have an iPhone and need to access an archived WhatsApp conversation, bringing it back is very simple:
- Open the WhatsApp app on your iPhone
- Tap on the Archived Chats tab at the top of the screen
- Locate the chat you want to unarchive and tap on it
- Tap Unarchive in the upper right corner
The chat will now appear again in your main Chats tab as if it was never archived. You can start sending and receiving messages in it as normal.
Unarchiving Individual Chats
The steps above allow you to unarchive one conversation at a time. This is useful if there’s a specific chat you need to access. WhatsApp does not offer a way to mass unarchive multiple chats at once.
Unarchiving from Notification
You can also unarchive a chat directly from a notification. If you receive a notification from an archived chat, pull down on it to expand the options. Tap Unarchive Chat and the conversation will be moved back to your main Chats tab.
Unarchiving Chats on Android
The process works similarly for Android users who need to unarchive WhatsApp conversations:
- Open WhatsApp and tap the 3-dot Menu button
- Choose Archived chats
- Tap the chat you want to unarchive
- Hit Unarchive at the top of the screen
This chat will now be removed from your archived messages and show up again in your main conversations. You can start messaging in it normally.
Individual vs Multiple Chats
Like on iPhone, the steps above will unarchive one conversation on Android. To unarchive multiple chats at once:
- Go to Archived chats in your WhatsApp menu
- Tap and hold a chat you want to unarchive
- Checkmark any other chats you want to unarchive
- Tap Unarchive at the top of the screen
This will move all the selected conversations back to your main Chats tab in one step.
Why Chats Become Archived
Now that you know how to unarchive WhatsApp conversations, understanding why chats get archived in the first place can be helpful:
- You manually archived old or unimportant chats to clear up your messaging screen.
- A chat was inactive for over 6 months and automatically archived.
- Your phone ran out of storage space and archived unused chats.
- The chat was archived on a linked device.
Manually archiving chats is the most common reason. But even if a conversation was archived automatically, you can still access it by unarchiving whenever needed.
Permanently Deleting Archived Chats
Rather than unarchiving a WhatsApp conversation, you may want to delete it permanently. This erases the chat history and removes it from your archived messages as well. To permanently delete an archived chat:
- Go to Archived Chats and tap the conversation
- Tap Delete Chat at the top of the screen
- Confirm you want to Delete Chat when prompted
The chat will now be erased forever, on both your phone and the recipient’s phone. Unlike archiving, this action is permanent and cannot be undone.
Benefits of Permanently Deleting
Here are some benefits of permanently deleting a chat instead of simply archiving:
- Frees up phone storage space used by the chat history
- Permanently removes potentially sensitive or risky conversations
- Deletes old chats with contacts no longer in your life
- Gets rid of chat data you no longer need or want
However, unlike archiving, you lose access to the conversation forever when you choose to delete.
Conclusion
Unarchiving WhatsApp chats is quick and easy on both iPhones and Android devices. Simply navigate to your Archived Chats, select the conversation you want to unarchive, and tap the Unarchive button. This makes the chat available again in your main conversations tab.
Archiving chats helps organize your WhatsApp screen and reduce clutter. But when you need to access an archived conversation again, just unarchive it in a few taps. You can also permanently delete archived chats if you no longer need them.
With this guide, you can now easily manage your archived WhatsApp messages. Unarchiving brings back old conversations so you can pick up past discussions when needed. It’s a useful way to revisit chat history while keeping your daily WhatsApp messaging clutter-free.
| Platform | Steps to Unarchive a Chat |
|---|---|
| iPhone |
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| Android |
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With just a few taps, you can access any archived WhatsApp conversation again. This simple process works on both iPhones and Android phones, making it easy to unarchive chats when needed. The ability to retrieve archived messages gives you the flexibility to revisit old conversations without cluttering up your messaging app.
Archiving conversations is a great organization tool for WhatsApp users who don’t want inactive chats taking up space. It removes clutter while still saving chat histories. If you ever need to access those archived chats again, you can unarchive individual or multiple conversations with ease.
Some key points to remember about unarchiving WhatsApp chats:
- Unarchiving brings back chats to your main Chats tab
- You can unarchive one chat at a time, or multiple chats
- Works the same way on iPhones and Android devices
- Takes just a few taps in your Archived Chats section
- Lets you resume messaging in old conversations
Overall, unarchiving gives you an accessible way to retrieve your WhatsApp chat history. It’s great for revisiting meaningful conversations, looking up old information, or simply decluttering your active messages tab. With this guide, you can now easily unarchive chats when the need arises.
Here is a quick recap of how to unarchive WhatsApp chats:
On iPhone
- Open WhatsApp
- Go to Archived Chats
- Tap the chat to unarchive
- Select Unarchive
On Android
- Open WhatsApp
- Go to Archived Chats in Menu
- Tap the chat to unarchive
- Choose Unarchive
And you’re done! Those few simple steps make any archived chat available in your main WhatsApp screen again.
Some additional tips for managing your archived conversations:
- Archive old or inactive chats to declutter your messaging
- Unarchive chats whenever you need to look back at them
- Permanently delete chats you no longer need
- You can only unarchive one chat at a time on iPhone
- Android lets you unarchive multiple chats together
With this knowledge, you can master your WhatsApp archived chats. Keep your daily messaging orderly while still accessing old conversations when needed. Unarchiving is a handy WhatsApp tool all users should know.