What Does Archiving Do in Facebook?

Dave Johnson October 7, 2022

Sometimes you’ll make a post on Facebook and then reconsider it. This could be due to a number of different reasons. There are a few things you can do. Archiving the post is one of the options.

In this article, we’ll discuss exactly what the archiving function does and what other alternatives you have for a questionable post.

What Does the Archive Button Do in Facebook?

There could come a time when you make a post on Facebook but aren’t completely sure you want to keep it. Fortunately, there’s something that you can do that doesn’t involve deleting it. This is where archiving comes in handy. If you don’t want to completely delete the post, but also don’t want it to be seen by others, you can use Facebook’s archiving feature. By archiving, it will only be available to be viewed by you, and you can restore it at any time.

To archive a post using a computer or laptop, follow these instructions:

Locate the post you want to archive.
Click on the “ellipsis” icon located in the upper right corner of the post.
Using the drop-down menu, select “Move to archive.”
You’ll see an on-screen notification that the post was moved to the archive along with a link if you want to see it in the archive folder.

To archive a post using the mobile app, here’s how it’s done:

Go to the post you’d like to archive.
Tap on the “ellipsis” icon in the top-left corner of the post.
Select “Move to Archive.”
You’ll get a notification stating that your post was moved to the archive. You can also tap on the link to take you directly to the archive.

That’s all there is to archiving posts in Facebook. If there comes a time that you’d like to make an archived post available again, you can easily make the change. You can restore your archived content by going to your activity log. To restore an archived post, follow these steps:

Click on your profile photo located in the upper-left-hand corner of the screen.
From the drop-down menu, select “Activity log.”
From the left-pane menu, choose “Posts archive.”
You’ll see a list of archived posts. Press on the “ellipsis” icon and tap “Restore to profile.”

What Does Archive Do in Facebook Messenger?

Archiving with Facebook Messenger is a bit different than doing so on the Facebook platform. Since only you can see your Facebook messages, there’s no need to hide them from anyone. You always have the option of deleting a chat, but if you prefer, you can archive them. Archiving a Facebook message will hide it from your view. You can easily revisit it at a later time.

To archive a Facebook Messenger chat using the desktop app, follow the steps below:

Locate the chat you’d like to archive.
Right-click or tap on the “ellipsis” icon.
Choose “Archive chat.”

To archive using the Facebook Messenger app (messenger.com), do the following:

Find the chat you want to archive.
Long press the chat head and select “Archive”

If at any time you change your mind and you want to reverse this action, you have the ability to restore an archived chat. Here’s what you’ll need to do:

Launch the Facebook Messenger app on your mobile device.
Using the search window at the top of the screen, type in the person’s name whose chat you’d like to remove from the archive.
Tap on the person’s name to restore the chat.

FAQ

I’ve deleted a post. Can I reverse this action?

The answer to this depends on how long ago you deleted the post. Deleted posts will stay in your Facebook trash for 30 days. After 30 days, all deleted posts are unavailable.

If you’d like to recover a deleted post, here’s what you do:

1. Click on your profile photo and go to “Settings & privacy.”

2. Select “Activity Log.”

3. Using the left-pane menu, tap on “Trash.”

4. Here you’ll see all the posts you deleted in the last 29 days or less. You can check the box next to the content and then select “Restore.”

Archiving Versus Deleting in Facebook Explained

Archiving in Facebook hides your post from others’ view, only allowing you to see it. If you decide to reverse the action, you can easily restore the post. For Messenger, archiving simply hides the chat from your view and you can only see it by physically going to your chat archives. For both Facebook and Messenger, deleting a post or chat is an irreversible act. Once messages are deleted, they are completely gone. Deleted posts are available for 30 days.

Have you had questions about what archiving does in Facebook? Did the information contained in his article help you to understand it? Let us know in the comments section below.