Social media has been a huge part of our lives, which means our posts, pictures, videos, and everything in between will become a part of the Internet. 

However, unlike the old days when pictures were in photo albums, videos stored in tapes, and essays on paper, deleting those items in their digital formats is much easier today, even if you only did it accidentally.

So, what will you do if you want to recover your deleted or archived Facebook posts? We’ll share the recovery ways through both PC and mobile.

What’s the difference between Facebook “Trash” and “Archive”?

Facebook has two ways to remove your posts from your timeline: moving to Trash and moving to Archive. 

Moving to Trash: The Trash is like your computer’s Recycle Bin. Even after you move a post to the trash, it will stay there unless you move it to the archive, restore it, permanently delete it, or the 30-day limit lapses. After 30 days, items in the Trash will be removed permanently.

Moving to Archive: Archiving your Facebook posts moves your posts to a different compartment, which is only accessible to you. Your friends wouldn’t be able to access them even if they previously had access to it before archiving. Items in the Archive will remain there unless you move them to the Trash or restore them.

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According to Facebook, not all your activities in the Activity log can be moved to Archive or Trash. Only the contents you can move will appear on the list when you choose Manage Activity.

Important: To use your Manage Activity in the Activity Log, you’ll have to use between Android, iPhone, or Facebook Lite app.

How to recover deleted Facebook posts on mobile and desktop

Please note that once you move your posts to Trash, they will be permanently deleted after 30 days and won’t be recovered anymore. 

Once a Trashed Post has been recovered, it will be reverted to its original place on Facebook, including the audience who can see it before the initial deletion. 

Restore deleted Facebook posts using mobile

Step 1: Tap your profile picture located at the upper left side of your profile.

Step 2: Tap the button with three dots beside the Edit Profile.

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Step 3: Locate and tap “Activity log.”

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Step 4: Click “Trash.”

Step 5: Tick the boxes of the deleted posts you want to restore. 

Step 6: Tap the Restore button. 

Important: 

Please note that items in the trash can only be restored within 30 days from the deletion. So, if the items you want to restore are missing from the Trash, you may check the Archive (more of this later). If it’s also not there, it must have already been permanently deleted.

Additional Information:

Besides restoring your Facebook posts, you also have access to move your posts from the Trash to the Archive by ticking the boxes of the deleted posts and clicking “Archive.”

You may also permanently delete your posts by ticking the boxes of the posts you want to delete and clicking “Delete.” Please note that this action is irreversible and will no longer be recovered or restored.

Restore deleted Facebook posts using PC

Step 1: Click your Profile on the top right of the website to redirect to your Profile page.

Step 2: Click the three dots located at the right side of your profile navigation pane.

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Step 3: Click “Activity log.”

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Step 4: Scroll down the side pane of the Activity log and click “Trash.”

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Step 5: Select and tick the boxes of the deleted posts you want to restore.

Step 6: Tap the Restore button.

How to recover archived Facebook posts on mobile and desktop PC

Recover archived Facebook posts on Android and iOS

Step 1: Tap your profile picture located at the upper left side of your profile.

Step 2: Tap the button with three dots beside the Edit Profile.

Step 3: Locate and tap “Activity log.”

Step 4: Click “Archive.”

Step 5: Tick the boxes of the Archived posts you want to restore.

Step 6: Tap the Restore button.

You can also access your past Facebook stories through the Story Archive at the top left of the Archive page. You can re-share or highlight these Archived stories.

You can also filter your Archived posts depending on the date of posting to limit your selection by clicking “Filters” and adding the Start and End dates.

Restore archived Facebook posts on desktop PC

Step 1: Click your Profile on the top right of the website to redirect to your Profile page.

Step 2: Click the three dots located at the right side of your profile navigation pane. 

Step 3: Click “Activity log.”

Step 4: Scroll down the side pane of the Activity log and click “Archive.”

Step 5: Click “Post archive.”

Step 6: Select and tick the boxes of the Archived posts you want to restore.

Step 7: Tap the Restore button.

When filtering your Archived posts on your Desktop, click the “Filter” and select a year and month (optional) to limit your search.


Though there are still ways of recovering trashed and archived Facebook posts, it wouldn’t hurt to download and save your Facebook data on an external storage, like a cloud storage.

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