If you are an avid Messenger user, you may have noticed that the app does not show the time a message was sent or received. In Messenger, you can only see the time and date of the first message that started the chat, but not the inpidual messages sent in the exchange. Of course, there are situations when you need to know the time a certain message was sent or received in Messenger.
Fortunately, there is a way to fix the problem. This article will show you how to view the times and dates of Messenger messages.
View the date and time of a message in Messenger
You may not be able to see the timestamp of a message in Messenger. However, you will be able to see the date and time when the message exchange began for each period. For example, if you sent a message to a friend on January 2 at 2:45 pm, regardless of the length of the conversation, the first message will show a timestamp. All other messages in this conversation will not display date or time information.
To view the date and time information for a message in Messenger on your mobile, do the following:
- Open your Messenger application on your mobile.
- In the “Chats” tab, choose a chat to view messages.
- Find the message whose date and time you want to check.
- Tap your message and you will see the “Timestamp” at the top of your message.
- This will work for Messenger on both iOS and Android devices.
If you use Messenger online, or if you send messages from your Facebook profile inbox, here’s how to view the date and time information for a message in Messenger on your PC:
- Go to “messenger.com” or your Facebook profile inbox.
- Select a chat to open messages.
- Let the cursor hover over the message and a timestamp will be displayed to the left of the message. It will show the exact date and time the message was sent.
Decrypting Messenger Read Receipts
If you are interested in viewing the date and time of Messenger messages, you may also want to decrypt read receipts for sent messages. When you send a message from Messenger, different types of circles are displayed. These circles indicate the different statuses of any message sent in Messenger.
This is what the different circles indicate:
- An empty circle indicates that your message was not sent.
- An empty circle with a check mark indicates that the message was sent from you, but the recipient did not receive it.
- A blue circle indicates that the recipient has received your message.
- A circle with a small profile photo inside indicates that your recipient has read your message.
Set up disappearing messages in Messenger
If you don’t want anyone to worry about when and at what time messages were sent on your Messenger, you can set your messages to disappear. Both you and a recipient in an end-to-end encrypted chat can set a timer for messages to disappear. If you send a message to someone and they don’t see it within 14 days, your message automatically disappears and doesn’t show up in the conversation.
To configure when messages should disappear, follow these steps:
- In your Messenger chat, tap the “Secret conversation” option.
- Tap the recipient’s profile or group profile at the top of the chat.
- Choose “Disappearing Messages.”
- Choose when messages disappear from your chat once they have been read.
Please note the following points regarding your messages disappearing on Messenger:
- Your recipients can still forward the message or even take a screenshot before it disappears.
- Your recipients can save or copy messages before they disappear.
- Your recipients can take a photo of the disappearing message using a different device before it disappears.
Just because you’ve set your Messenger messages to disappear doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful about what you send. If Facebook detects that someone took screenshots or screen recordings of your end-to-end encrypted conversations, you and other recipients will be notified. Always make sure your Messenger app is up to date and that you are always using the latest version of Messenger.
How to cancel or delete a message in Messenger
An easy way to not show the date or time on any message is to delete the message entirely. In Messenger, you can permanently unsend a message or hide a message from your chat view. If you choose “Unsend for yourself”, other chat recipients will see your message in the conversation on your behalf. If you choose “Unsend for everyone”, none of the recipients in the chat will see your message.
Here’s how to cancel sending a message in Messenger:
- In Messenger, tap to open any conversation.
- Press and hold the specific message you want to unsend.
- Tap the “Three Dots” icon for more information.
- Tap “Delete.”
- Tap “Unsend.”
It is important to keep the following in mind regarding unsent Messenger messages:
- If someone in the chat has downloaded a copy of your Facebook data, you will see that certain messages were not sent, but you will not be able to see the content of the messages.
- If you suspect that any unsent message you received is against Facebook’s community standards, you can easily report it by pressing a long key on a message next to it or reporting the conversation.
Set up automatic replies on your Facebook page
If you’re interested in the times and dates of your Messenger messages, you may also be interested in setting up automatic messages for your Facebook business pages. You can only do this if you are a Page admin, moderator, or Page editor.
Here’s how to set up autoresponders for your business’s Facebook Page:
- On the left of the page admin panel, click “Inbox.”
- Find and click “Automatic responses.”
- Choose the type of response (away message, instant response, job application received, etc.).
- Choose the “Personalize” icon or the “Three Stars” icon and personalize the message.
- You can make your message mention the recipient’s name or you can add a link.
Get the details
Sometimes you may need to check an important message sent in Messenger and find out its date and time. For example, if you sent important information to someone who claims they didn’t receive it or received it at a different time, you’ll want evidence that shows the actual date and time you sent the message. Fortunately, there are ways and means to get the information you need.
