How To See Deleted Discord Messages

Tired of not being able to see deleted Discord messages? Don't worry, this guide shows you different ways you can see Discord messages.

Discord is very versatile, allowing you to edit a server in almost any way you want. This includes the ability to edit and remove messages.

However, it is also likely to erase a message unintentionally. If this occurs and you desire to reverse the deletion, or if you wish to view a different user’s erased messages, there are methods you can utilize.

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Discord’s Audit Log

In most cases, the answer to Discord questions like these is to add a bot to your server. In this case, however, it won’t be necessary as a built-in audit log helps admins gain a clearer insight into the messages sent in a text channel.

This option is slightly restricted, as you won’t be able to see the contents of the message, only when it was deleted, in which channel, and by who.

The audit log also displays other useful pieces of information, including the actions of your moderators/admins. The log will show you who your staff members have kicked, added, banned, etc.

To access the audit log, you need to open the server’s settings. Either click on the server name at the top-left of your Discord screen and select Server Settings or right-click your server’s icon, also located on the left of your screen.

Once you have accessed the settings, find a tab named “Audit Log” and click on it. You should now be able to see an overview of the most recently deleted and edited messages.

Using A Bot

YAGPDB Bot

If you want more insight into the deleted messages, the audit log will be insufficient, and you will need a different solution.

Fortunately, as with numerous aspects of Discord, someone has created a bot that provides a solution to the problem. These bots track all messages and any actions related to them.

As of writing, the most popular of these bots is YAGPDB (Yet Another General Purpose Discord Bot), so we will look at that one in this guide.

Before you can use the chat logging feature, you will need to add the bot to your server. We have a step-by-step guide for adding bots to Discord, but, as the YAGPDB installation process is quite specific, we’ll explain it in this article.

Start by visiting the YAGPDB website and click the Add To Server link in the top menu. This will redirect to a page where you can log in to Discord. Once logged in, you will gain access to the bot’s control panel.

There are numerous settings here, allowing you to fully customize the bot, but you can ignore them for now. Click on Select Server (top-right) and choose the server you want the bot to join. This will start the customization process.

Next, you need to assign the bot a role. It is best to already have a role prepared on your server. Press Next.

In step 1, a prefix is assigned that will be used to give commands to the bot. By default, the prefix is a dash (-), and you can continue to use this.

You can skip the next 4-5 steps if you don’t care about the bot’s moderation abilities and only want to be able to see deleted messages.

After completing these steps, return to Discord and go to your server.

To open the log and see all the deleted messages on your server, type -log, and the bot will immediately respond with a link. Click on the link.

YAGPDB deleted messages log
YAGPDB’s log of deleted messages

BetterDiscord’s Message Log

BetterDiscord is an open-source substitute for Discord. It can also be regarded as an unofficial upgrade to the Discord application.

It isn’t perfect, as it’s made by a team of around 60 people. While this isn’t necessarily a small team, it is relatively small when compared to the official Discord staff.

In any case, BetterDiscord provides users with far more freedom and many extra features. Other developers can also create plugins compatible with BetterDiscord, making it even more versatile. For example, one of those many plugins can provide you with a log of deleted messages.

If you have ImprovedDiscord on your computer, you can add the plugin. To do that, visit Bright’s GitLab and get MessageLoggerV2. The plugin is a JavaScript file that may seem like an unfamiliar file type, but no need to concern. Just put it in the right folder.

Look for a folder called “plugin” in BetterDiscord’s installation directory. The default directory should be: C:/Users/Username/AppData/Roaming/BetterDiscord/Plugins.

Restart Discord, then go to User Settings and the Plugins tab. Here, you should be able to see MessageLoggerV2. Enable it, and the plugin will begin recording a log of every message in all the servers you have joined. This means that you can always check the logger even if a message is deleted.

The message log plugin can be accessed via User Settings.

These are the best methods to see deleted or edited messages on Discord. We recommend using the bot as it provides far more information while still being easy to install and use.

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Branko Gapo

Keeping up with the incredibly fast evolution of computer technology is impossible. Branko aims to use his knowledge on this matter to share news and information on all the latest essential technological innovations and advancements.