Lost a Text? Search Messages on Your iPhone & iPad (iOS 17)

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

Wondering how to search text messages on an iPhone or iPad to find a specific conversation? We can help! We'll cover how to search through your messages on an iPhone and iPad in the Messages app, search Facebook messages, and search keywords or phrases in your WhatsApp chat.

Jump To:

• How to Search Text Messages on iPhone & iPad in the Messages App  
• How to Search Messages on an iPhone & iPad with Spotlight Search 
• From How Far Back Can You Find a Text Message?
• Search Facebook Messenger Messages 
• How to Search WhatsApp Messages on iPhone & iPad 

Lost a Text? How to Search Messages on an iPhone & iPad 

Here's how to search text messages on an iPhone or iPad, as well as Facebook Messenger messages, and WhatsApp messages. Find specific texts, even if they were sent long ago, and you're not sure which messaging app you used. To learn more about how to search on your iPhone, check out our free Tip of the Day. 

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

A useful feature of iMessage search is the ability to search for a word or words you're looking for within the conversation. You can search iMessages and SMS messages directly in the Messages app. This is the easiest way to do it, although I'll also cover another iMessage search method. The screenshots below are taken on an iPhone, but the process is the same on the iPad. Here's how to search text messages:

1. To search in iMessage, open the Messages app and swipe down to reveal the Search field.
   
   
2. Type the name of the person, topic, date, or keyword that you are looking for.
   
   
3. You’ll see the relevant thread(s). You can tap See All if you want to see more threads or tap the conversation to open it.
   
   
4. You will see your search term within that message.
   
   

In recent iOS versions, the search function has been upgraded, and now allows you to search multiple relevant conversations by word and phrase. 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 Old iMessages on iPhone & iPad Using Spotlight Search

Spotlight Search allows you to search across your iPhone's entire system. Therefore, you will be searching across apps, including Messages, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and any other messaging app you have.

1. Tap Search at the bottom of the Home Screen. You can also access Spotlight in the Today View.
   
   
2. Tap the Search field and enter the person or phrase you're looking for.
   
   
3. As a result, you will see the results from across apps on your iPhone or iPad, including links and photos!
4. Tap See All next to Messages to access all of your older messages.
   
   
5. Once you find the relevant conversation, tap it to view the message you were searching for.
   
   

Now you know how to search for 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 below!

Return to top

How Far Back Can You Search iMessage History?

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:

1. Open the Settings app, scroll down, and tap Messages. 
   
   
2. Under Message History, tap Keep Messages.
   
   
3. Here, you can pick between 30 days, one 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 for Messages on Facebook on iPhone & iPad

The Facebook app is redesigned frequently, so these steps might look slightly different on your phone. However, the general layout and steps should be the same. A Facebook conversation search is easy and can be done within the Facebook Messenger app in a few easy steps:

1. To search your private Facebook messages, open the Facebook Messenger app and tap the Search field at the top of the app.
   
   
2. Type in your search term, and you'll see several categories where the search term appears. The categories include Messages (conversations with your contacts), Discover (groups and pages on Facebook), if you have an Instagram account you'll see More on Instagram (relevant Instagram accounts that you may or may not follow), and More People (people who are not your contacts).
   
   
3. Tap See More next to Messages.
   
   
4. Facebook Messenger will list conversations with the matched search term and how many times it was mentioned. Tap the one you want to see.
   
   
    
5. You’ll see the various sentences where the matched search term was mentioned.
   
   
6. 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. The WhatsApp message search feature is generally considered to be one of the best on the iPhone by reviewers, and like Facebook messages, a search 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.

1. To search your Whatsapp tests, open WhatsApp and log in if you are prompted.
   
   
2. Go to the Chats tab, unless you are already there.
   
   
3. Locate the Search field at the top of the screen. You may need to scroll down to make the Search field appear.
   
   
4. 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.
   
   
5. 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 Messages, Facebook, and WhatsApp. 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. If your friend has sent a link you don't want to lose, you can also pin the shared content, so it appears in the related app. Next, learn how to sync messages from iPhone to Mac & iPad and how to review and delete message attachments on an iPhone.