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How to See Deleted Messages on Discord?

How to See Deleted Messages on Discord?

If you want to see deleted messages on Discord, you won’t have an easy job to do it because the application itself doesn’t allow you to do it.

But it is possible with a bit of planning and in today’s article, we’re going to find out some workarounds to this problem, helping you view deleted messages on Discord.

With the instant messaging app growing more and more popular each year, it only seems natural for all sort of individuals to find their way there, insult or say things that they regret.

Only to delete their messages afterwards, leaving no proof of their wrongdoings.

This makes it really difficult for admins / moderators to keep track on what’s happening on their servers and take the required measures against users that abuse the system – or just make a massive mistake that they cover up.

Because, yes, even administrators won’t have access to the deleted comments or messages posted by others on Discord by default. But fortunately there are some ways around this, which require a bit of tinkering.

It’s definitely worth doing if you want to make sure that conversations won’t turn into pure chaos. (Plus, we’re also sharing a guide on how to actually file a report to the Discord staff directly – but let’s start from the beginning!)

Seeing deleted messages on Discord

How to See Deleted Messages on Discord

Before we get to actual ways for viewing deleted messages on Discord. It’s worth saying that the app’s measure to allow its users to delete their own messages – as well as mods to delete whatever messages they consider unfit for the server.

Seems like a basic measure that has a lot to do with privacy and freedom of speech.

However, it’s this exact freedom of speech that some users are abusing.

It happens a lot lately, with people getting into a heated conversation, saying things that they regret later and just deleting the incriminating messages, leaving you (or others) with no proof of that ever happening.

But there are ways for you to prevent that. Unfortunately, if you are not the mod of the said Discord server, things are going to be a lot more complicated for you.

But we’ll cover all the methods that you have to view deleted messages on Discord!

1. The ol’ screenshot method

Out of all the methods that we’re going to recommend, this isn’t very reliable. But it’s the only real option that regular users have on a server.

Basically, all that you have to do is take a screenshot clearly showing the message or messages that are incriminating.

You can do this on both your mobile as well as your desktop computer or laptop – by using additional software for the latter.

However, there are two big problems with this method: first, you have to actually anticipate that a user will delete their comment(s), which is really difficult to do.

Secondly, since these screen grabs can be easily manipulated, they might not be considered enough proof in some cases. But it’s still better than nothing.

2. Using Dynobot

How to See Deleted Messages on Discord

There are a bunch of bots for Discord that can be installed on your server and instructed to log events – including the deletion of messages or even edits and such.

Of course, in this case, regular users can’t really do anything: but for admins, it’s absolute and pure gold to have such a tool on hand.

This gives you more control over what’s happening in your server and bots usually come with additional and extremely useful features to complement the viewing of deleted messages.

Probably the best known and most widely used bot for this is Dynobot – available for free via its official website.

This bot has a ton of other features that mods will find extremely useful, but for the purpose of this article, they offer a module that allows you to see deleted messages.

But installing Dynobot or any other Discord bot requires some tinkering and many people shy away from doing it, considering that it’s too complicated.

In addition, the truth is that if you really want control over your server and you want to make sure that justice is served whenever it is required.

You will have to go through these steps and activate a message logger bot in order to make sure that your Discord server won’t be ruined by trolls.

3. Using Logger bot

How to See Deleted Messages on Discord

A more lightweight bot that does nothing more than log events on your servers – like deleted messages, edited messages and joins/leaves.

This one might be exactly what smaller servers need, as it stores the information for up to two weeks, which is usually more than enough when bad messages happen

In addition, the Logger bot is available for free here, and it also has a dedicated Discord server for those who need help setting it up and making it work on their server.

There might be other similar bots available for download – and also for free – but the truth is that they only become useful if they are actually installed on the server.

So it should be an admin’s job to make sure that they have such a bot installed in order to prevent users from taking advantage of Discord’s instant deletion off their servers of user messages that get deleted.

4. MessageLoggerV2 Plug-in with Better Discord

Suppose you are a general Discord user who wishes to view a Discord server’s deleted messages. You may then use this approach to see deleted Discord communications.

Unlike the previous two techniques, you can follow this approach by any server member. You will not require low authorization to proceed with this procedure.

Now, this approach will allow you to view the deleted messages, but it is against the rules of Discord.

Therefore, proceed at your own risk. Nevertheless, you will not get your account banned for this behavior.

To activate this approach, you must follow a lengthy procedure. However, I will walk you through the process.

Follow these instructions to see deleted Discord messages using the Better Discord app and the MessageLoggerV2 Plug-in. Follow these steps to obtain Better Discord.

The First Step is to Download the Better Discord

  • Step #1: Select Download.
  • Step #2: Open the file you downloaded.
  • Step #3: Click Next after selecting Install Better Discord.
  • Step #4: Choose just Discord from the options provided.
  • Step #5: Select Install.
  • Step #6: If the application is open after installation is complete, close it.

After Downloading Better Discord, Follow these Steps

  • Step #1: Download the plug-in MessageLoggerV2.
  • Step #2: Select Download.
  • Step #3: Ignore the warning and click Keep to continue downloading the file.

Follow these steps to activate MessageLoggerV2 Plug-in

  • Step #1: Open the Better Discord that you Installed
  • Step #2: Use the settings icon to access the preferences menu.
  • Step #3: Please use the down arrow to select Better Discord.
  • Step #4: Select Plug-ins.
  • Step #5: Choose the plug-ins folder and click the Open button.
  • Step #6: Launch File Explorer and navigate to the location from where you extracted the plug-in file.
  • Step #7: Place it in the Better Discord folder you accessed before.
  • Step #8: Once you choose the desired plug-in, you must toggle its activation switch.
  • Step #9: In the missing library window, select Download Now.
  • Step #10: Put off dealing with additional pop-ups by canceling and closing them.
  • Step #11: Enable the two add-ons you just downloaded under MessageLoggerV2.
  • Step #12: Visit the server where the deleted mails are stored.
  • Step #13: Select Message Logger followed by Open Logs from the context menu that appears when you right-click the server’s name.
  • Step #14: To view the erased conversations, navigate to the Logs > Deleted tab.

How to Report abusive comments on Discord?

The main reason why you want to be able to track the deleted comments (or the ones that get edited) is to prevent abusive behavior.

Also, if you’re using Discord on your Desktop or Laptop, things are going to be a bit more complicated (strange, I know).

But going with the easy-peasy method of reporting abusive comments or behavior on a server.

If you have the Discord mobile app installed and the message hasn’t been deleted yet, you’re in luck! Simply press the red “Report” button next to the message and you’re all set.

Make sure to take a screenshot as well (as the message might get deleted later on).

Also, if you’re on your computer, it’s usually easier and faster to simply switch to the mobile app and report the user/message than to go through all the required steps for reporting via the Desktop app itself.

But if you really don’t have another option, here is how to report an abusive user on Discord, on your computer:

– First, click the settings icon (the gear-looking icon in the lower left corner), click on “Appearance” in the left sidebar and scroll down to the “Advanced” area:

How to See Deleted Messages on Discord

– Activate the switch next to “Developer mode” and go back to the server/channel where you want to report a message from and right click the abusive user’s nickname, then select “Copy ID” (then save it in a text document, as you will get other IDs as well):

How to See Deleted Messages on Discord

– Next, do the same with the message itself: Right click anywhere on the message and select “Copy ID” then paste that code in your document. Finally, copy the ID of the server where the message has been posted.

– Now go to Discord’s support page here, select the “Trust & Safety” category and file a report using all the information you have collected (and make sure you also have a screenshot of the message as well!)

How to See Deleted Messages on Discord

Alternatively, in case that the message is deleted or you didn’t get the chance to copy the IDs required (most importantly, the user’s ID as they can change their name easily), you can try to talk the admin / moderator of the server and see if they somehow have a logging bot installed.

If they do, you’re in luck as it will be easy to report the user’s misbehavior AND also find their user ID even if they changed the name.

But again, viewing deleted messages on Discord – as well as filing a report with those that really are abusive or simply wrong – is not an easy job, no matter if you are a regular user on a server or the administrator.

FAQs

Q1. As a Discord owner, can I see deleted messages?

A: Owners of Discord servers are unable to recover messages that members remove. It is against the rules of Discord to view the messages that people delete.

If you use a bot on your server like Dyno, you can see that someone erased a message, but you don’t know what they removed.

Q2. Can I recover any messages that are deleted from Discord?

A: After someone erases a text in Discord, you can never retrieve it. But let’s say you’re a server administrator.

In such a scenario, you may check the server’s audit log to discover what’s been going on, such as who has been deleting messages, what the moderator has been doing, who has been joining and leaving, etc.

Conclusion

Seeing deleted messages in the Discord server is always infuriating. It creates a sense of curiosity in all of us. However, the above mentioned methods will help you see the messages people delete in Discord.

Hopefully, this guide will make things easier and you will be able to fight back and bring justice to yourself and the server itself.