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Why is my chat history gone

Melissa Morris 20 Reputation points
2026-06-05T18:05:31.3633333+00:00

I have multiple chats and in some, the previous history is no longer showing. Even comments from last week have disappeared. Why has this been removed?

Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Teams for business | Chats | Group chats
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Answer accepted by question author

Jay Tr 12,715 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2026-06-05T19:17:34.58+00:00

Hi @Melissa Morris, 

I hope you are doing well. 

Based on your description, the messages have most likely not been deleted from the server. When older history vanishes in some chats while the rest of the app works normally, it usually points to a corrupted or outdated local cache on the client rather than anything being permanently removed. The quickest way to confirm this is to open the same chat in Teams on the web, since the web client reads directly from the server. If the full history appears there, it confirms the issue is local and the steps below will bring it back. 

To resolve the issue, please follow these steps (The following guidance is for Windows devices. If you are using a different device, please let me know): 

  1. Clear the cache in the Teams desktop app 
  • Right click the Teams icon on the taskbar and select Quit to fully close the app, since clicking the X only minimises it. 
  • Press the Windows logo key + R to open the Run dialog. 
  • Enter this path and select OK: %userprofile%\appdata\local\Packages\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Microsoft\MSTeams    
  • Delete all files and folders inside that location. 
  • Restart Teams and allow a little extra time for the history to rebuild on first launch. 
  1. Clear the cache for Teams on the web 
  • Launch the browser, and press Ctrl + Shift + Delete to open the Clear browsing data utility. 
  • Now, select All time from the Time range dropdown menu, tick the checkboxes for Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files, then click on Clear data towards the bottom. 

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  1. Have another member re-add you to the group chat 
  • If the history is still missing in a specific group chat after clearing the cache on both clients, ask another member of that chat to remove you and then add you back. 
  • This refreshes your membership and forces the conversation to reload from the server, which often restores the visible history for that chat. 

To help narrow down the cause, could you please let me know whether this behavior occurs for every group chat or only some of them? 

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow the steps above and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can continue working together to resolve the issue.  

Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any questions or need additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out so I can continue to support you. If you found the response useful, please consider marking it as accepted, as this may help other community members who are looking for similar guidance.  

I look forward to continuing the conversation.  

If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment". 

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.     

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  1. Melissa Morris 20 Reputation points
    2026-06-05T18:07:36.45+00:00

    Is there a way to refresh the chat myself without having another member of the chat remove and re-add me?

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  2. AI answer

    2026-06-05T18:05:44.69+00:00

    In Microsoft Teams, chat history can appear “gone” for several reasons, but in most business scenarios it has not been fully removed for everyone:

    1. If a group or meeting chat was deleted from the chat list
      • Deleting a group or meeting chat only removes it from the deleting participant’s chat list and devices.
      • Other participants still see the full chat history.
      • Deleted chats are not searchable for the person who deleted them and remain deleted even after signing out and back in.
      • If re‑added to that ongoing group or meeting chat, the full chat history becomes visible again.
    2. If messages or content were explicitly deleted
      • Individual messages that were deleted will no longer appear in the chat history for the person who deleted them, and depending on policy, may also disappear for others.
      • Shared files or links may still be accessible to others if file permissions (for example, OneDrive links set to “Anyone with this link”) were not changed.
    3. Exported data vs. in‑app view
      • Previously deleted chats and their messages are not included in exported Teams Free data.
      • If relying on exports to check history, deleted chats will not appear there.

    Given that even comments from last week are missing, the most likely causes are:

    • The chat (or specific messages) was deleted from the chat list.
    • An admin or policy change removed or limited visibility of certain history.

    To proceed:

    • Ask another participant in the affected chats whether they still see the older messages.
    • If they do, request to be re‑added to the group/meeting chat (if applicable) so the history reappears.
    • If no one sees the missing history, contact the organization’s Teams/IT admin to check for retention or deletion policies that may have removed recent messages.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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