How to search text messages on iphone by date

Social media platforms let you pin a post to the top of your page, so it’s always the first thing your audience sees. Did you know that this useful feature is also available on your iPhone? Tap or click here to pin messages for easy reference later.

How often do you endlessly scroll through a text conversation to find that one bit of information you need? It could be an important date, the name of a movie, an address — just about anything.

There’s an easier way to find what you’re looking for, and it works with just about any messaging app.

Growing by the day

Depending on how often you text, you can have thousands of messages stored between many people on your phone. It’s a historical record of conversations that can go back for years, even as you upgrade to new phones.

Remember that confirmation number you got from an order you placed last month? Probably not. You can easily find it by searching for the word “confirmation.”

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What was the name of that Italian restaurant your cousin recommended? You can search “Italian restaurant” or just “restaurant” and find it.

There’s no limit to what you can find. Search “dentist” to locate the date of your last dental appointment or “anniversary” to see the message you sent to a loved one on that special date last year.

RELATED: How to save text messages on iOS and Android

The Messages app makes it easy to search through your iPhone text messages:

• Open the Messages app.
• At the top of the screen, type your search word or term in the Search field.
• You’ll see options to search your Conversations.
• Tap See All to get a list of messages containing your search word or term.
• Tap on a conversation to be taken to that particular message.

You may also get results coming up under other categories like Collaboration, Links, Photos, Locations and Documents.

How to search messages on your Android phone

Google’s Messages app is the default for Android phones. Here’s how to search through it:

• Open the Messages app.
• At the top of the screen, type your search word or term in the Search images & videos field.
• Hit Enter to perform your search.
• Tap on a conversation to be taken to that particular message.

If you click the search button, you see your last contacts and can choose from categories such as Starred, Images, Videos, Places and Links.

How to search messages through Facebook Messenger

Facebook’s messaging app is free to use and lets you make calls, share videos, photos and more. Here’s how to search through your conversations:

• Open the Facebook Messenger app.
• At the top of the screen, type your search word or term in the Search field.
• As you type, you’ll see results come up in past conversations.
• Tap on a conversation to be taken to that particular message.

If a username matches your search word, you’ll also see them under the results. You may also get suggested links to businesses, pages, and blogs on Facebook that match your search.

RELATED: End-to-end encryption comes to Facebook Messenger – Here’s how to enable it

How to search messages through WhatsApp

WhatsApp has a global reach, with billions of users using the app every month.

• Open WhatsApp.
• At the top of the screen, type your search word or term in the Search field.
• As you type, you’ll see results come up in past conversations.
• Tap on a conversation to be taken to that particular message.

You may also see results for Photos, GIFs, Links, Videos, Documents and Audio that match your search.

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How to Look Up Old Texts on iPhone without Scrolling

I'm trying to find some important messages from a few months ago. Is there a quick way to do this? I don’t want to scroll through the whole text thread. Thanks!

- Question from Apple Community

Can You Look Up Old Messages on iPhone?

You are now trying to find some specific messages. Before you start, you need to first make sure that you have the text messages you need on your phone. Generally, your iPhone will keep all text messages and iMessages unless you delete them manually or make changes to the retention time.

● Apple offers users the option to keep text messages for the past 30 days, the past year, or permanently. You can go to Settings > Messages > Keep Messages to have a check. If the message you need is within that time frame, then you should be able to access it on your iPhone.
● In addition, the Messages in iCloud function will also help users keep all text messages. If you have turned on the Messages switch in iCloud, your messages will be uploaded to cloud services and keep forever. However, when you delete a message from your device, it will also be deleted from iCloud.

How to Find Old Text Messages on iPhone without Scrolling

As long as you keep the text messages you need on your phone, then you can find and view them. We can scroll up to read old messages. However, it can be a challenge to find the ones you need in thousands of messages.

Fortunately, you can find certain messages on iPhone with some tips. There are 4 ways that can help you find old text messages on iPhone without scrolling. We’re going to walk you through all of them so that you can find a specific message you sent or received from someone.

Way 1. How to Find Old Text Messages on iPhone with Hidden Scroll Feature

If you want to find a text message from a while ago, you can take advantage of the “hidden scroll” function.

1. Go to the Messages app and choose the conversation you want to view.

2. Tap the top bar on the screen interface. The bar displays the time, your carrier's name, battery level, etc.

3. It will scroll up a few messages to the point where it is loaded. You can keep tapping the top bar until you find what you're looking for.

Way 2. How to Find Old Text Messages on iPhone via Search Bar

There is a Search bar in the Messages app. If you remember any information about the message you want to look up, you can search for keywords to find it quickly.

1. Open Messages app and go to All Messages.

2. Swipe down from the screen to access the Search bar.

3. Enter the phone number, the name or the keyword about the messages you are looking for.

4. It will list all relevant results and you will find certain messages.

Way 3. How to Find Old Text Messages on iPhone via Spotlight Search

The Spotlight Search is a convenient way to find anything on iPhone. All you have to do is enter one keyword. Below are the steps to look up old text messages on iPhone via the Spotlight Search.

1. Swipe down on the home screen to access Spotlight Search.

2. Tap the search bar and enter a phone number or a keyword related to the message.

3. It will show all relevant results and you can tap the message you are looking for to have a check.

Way 4. How to Find Old Text Messages on iPhone via FoneTool

You can also look at old iPhone text messages on computer. It can be easier to find certain text messages on a large screen. One iOS data manager named FoneTool can list all your text messages and iMessages so you can easily find the one you need.

1. Donwload, install and launch FoneTool.

2. Connect your iPhone to computer via USB cable.

3. Click the Selevice Backup option.

4. Choose Messages and it will start scanning your iPhone > After the scan, it will show all your text messages and iMessages.

If you want to backup iPhone messages, you can choose the messages you need and click Start Backup to backup your messages to computer, external hard drive or USB flash drive.

Final Words

That’s all about how to find old text messages on iPhone without scrolling. As long as the messages are stored on your iPhone, then you can find them by any of the above methods.

Messages are important to you. To avoid losing any text messages, you can download FoneTool help you backup all of them. In this way, you can easily check them on computer and quickly restore deleted ones.

For any queries, feedback, or suggestions, please feel free to contact us.

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