Restore Messenger end-to-end encrypted chats with iCloud Keychain

This feature is only available on iOS mobile devices and may not be available to you yet.
Keep in mind that auto-sync can only be used if you’re signed into your iCloud account and have iCloud Passwords & Keychain turned on in your iOS device settings. If you get an error message while trying to turn on auto-sync, learn about how to set up iCloud Keychain on your iOS device.

Automatically restore your encrypted chat history with auto-sync

Before you begin, keep in mind that auto-sync can only be used if you’re signed into your iCloud account and have iCloud Passwords & Keychain turned on in your iOS device settings. If you get an error message while trying to turn on auto-sync, learn about how to set up iCloud Keychain on your iOS device.
  1. Open Messenger on an iOS mobile device.
  2. Tap Menu, then tap Settings.
  3. Tap Privacy & safety, then tap End-to-end encrypted chats.
  4. Tap Message storage, then under How you restore your chat history, tap More options.
  5. Tap the toggle next to Auto-sync to turn it on or off.
Note: If you turn off restore, your chat history may no longer be restored on other devices that are logged into your iCloud account.

How it works

If you have secure storage turned on for Messenger, and have iCloud Passwords & Keychain turned on in your iOS device settings, auto-sync will automatically restore your end-to-end encrypted messages on new iOS mobile devices. When auto-sync is turned on, a key is stored in your iCloud Keychain that restores your chat history. The key automatically loads your chat history on new devices without you having to enter a pin.
Note: For now you can restore your chat history with iCloud Keychain on iOS mobile devices, but not on MacOS computers.
Learn more about other security methods to restore your end-to-end encrypted chats on Messenger.

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