How to Recover Deleted Skype Chat History?

All information about user activity is stored on the server or in special folders on the device. As a result of a crash of the operating system or erroneous actions of the user, text correspondence may be deleted. Let's see what actions can be taken to restore Skype communication history.

As a rule, the history of received and sent messages in Skype is kept for thirty days. Then all of them are automatically deleted from the server. You can extend the shelf life by changing a parameter in the program settings. After messages in Skype disappear, you can find them on your computer's hard drive using a third-party program. 

Deleted Skype Chat History Windows 10

Many users share the same experience on the internet: the Skype chat history is deleted by them mistakenly or lost suddenly due to application crash, freezing, or other reasons. Users are eager to know how to find deleted Skype chat history since it contains important information they need.

Does Skype keep chat history?

Skype will keep users’ text-based chats in the cloud for at most 30 days. If you want to keep the Skype conversation history for a longer time, you'll have to make backups manually.

MiniTool ShadowMaker can help you finish files & folders backup and system backup & restore easily; it also allows you to perform an automatic backup. 

Can you recover Skype chat history?

Your Skype chat history may be lost in several cases: users deleted the chat history accidentally; malicious applications or software downloaded on the device deleted the Skype messages; the operating system is corrupted; the Skype application freezes, crashes, or stops working suddenly. You have a good chance to retrieve deleted Skype conversations before the data has been overwritten.

How to Recover Deleted Skype Chat History?

As mentioned above, the real data of deleted Skype chat history is saved in the main.db database file on your device. However, the database file is a special type of data file that can’t be accessed by just double clicking. You need to use applications like Skyperious and SkypeLogView (also known as Skype Log Viewer) to recover deleted Skype chat history Windows 10.

1. Visit a specific page to download suurjaak.github.io/Skyperious or SkypeLogView.
2. Install the application on your computer properly.
3. Launch it and open the main.db file located in C:\Users\WindowsUsername\AppData\Roaming\Skype\SkypeUsername.
4. Use the browser of the application to search for the conversation containing the chat messages which have been deleted.

How to Access AppData Folder

Users were experiencing the same problem while trying to recover deleted Skype chat history by using the method mentioned above – can’t find the AppData folder. There are 2 simple fixes for it.

Fix 1: access via Run.

1. Press Windows + S to open Windows 10 search bar.
2. Type run into the textbox and hit Enter. (You can also select Run from the WinX menu of the Start button.)
3. Type %appdata% into the textbox after the word Open.
4. Click on the OK button below or press Enter on the keyboard.
5. This will open the Roaming folder inside the AppData directly.

Fix 2: show hidden files and folders.

1. Open File Explorer (also known as Windows Explorer) on Windows 10.
2. Click View in the menu bar at the top.
3. Click on the Options icon directly or click on the downward arrow button & choose Change folder and search options.
4. Shift to the View tab in the Folder Options window.
5. Check Show hidden files, folders, and drives under Hidden files and folders option.
6. Click on the Apply button in the lower right corner to confirm changes.

How to show hidden items more easily?

1. Also, you need to open File Explorer.
2. Select View from the menu bar.
3. Navigate to the Show/hide section which is on the left side of Options.
4. Add a checkmark into the square box in front of Hidden items.

Some people said that their File Explorer is not responding or stops working suddenly, here’s how to fix the problem in different ways:

How to Fix Corrupted/Missing Database File?

Some users said that they can’t find database files in the Skype folder under AppData\Roaming, so they are not able to use it to recover the deleted Skype chat history. On this occasion, users should go to recover the database file itself and then use it to recover the deleted conversations and messages.

Software like MiniTool Power Data Recovery should be used to recover a damaged/lost file from storage devices like computers, external hard drives, USB sticks, and SD cards. Here’s how to recover deleted history.

Stage one: download the software and install it properly.

1. Visit the official website to get to know about the data recovery software.
2. Choose a license for the software. If you don’t know the differences between those license types, please click here.
3. Get & save the setup program to a safe location. Don’t store the installer to the drive that contains lost data waiting to be recovered in order to avoid data overwriting.
4. Wait for the downloading to finish. It won’t last too long unless there is a network or other problems.
5. Navigate to the folder that saves the installer and double click on it to open the Setup wizard.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions to finish installing the software easily.

To learn how to recover the database file with MiniTool Power Data Recovery, check out the post. 

When it comes to exporting Skype chat history, some users are wondering how long they should wait to export Skype chat history. Actually, there is no accurate answer to the question - how long does it take to export Skype chat history.

• According to Microsoft, it can take up to, but no more than 3 working days to complete the process.
• According to users’ feedback, the export process may be completed in several minutes, hours, and even days.

Warm Tip: you should backup your Skype chat history at fixed periods. It’s a good idea to have MiniTool ShadowMaker back up data for you automatically.

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