Messenger, the Facebook-integrated app, allows users to exchange unlimited messages. No limit or restriction blocks users from continuing the conversation after sending a certain number of messages.
With Messenger imposing no limits, and plenty of users using the app for years, there is often a temptation to check how many messages on Messenger we have actually exchanged. If you’re curious too, know that it’s absolutely possible.
In today’s post, I described two ways to check the number of messages on Messenger in each chat. The first method worked for me without a problem, while the second one didn’t work at all, but I’ve included it because it worked for some other users.
Check out both instructions below. 🙂
How do I check the number of messages on Messenger?
As I mentioned at the beginning, it is possible to check the number of messages on Messenger. Moreover, it is easy and does not require any special skills or the downloading of external software. Every Messenger and Facebook user should be able to handle this without any problems.
Below you will find two ways to do this. The first way to check the number of messages on Messenger is based on downloading an HTML file of messages from Messenger and using the contextual search engine. This option is available on Messenger itself, or more specifically, in its settings. While it may sound and seem complicated, in reality, it is not at all. On the contrary, it is quick and simple to do. To make it easier, I have included step-by-step instructions with screenshots below.
The second method, on the other hand, requires a special plugin (Chrome extension) to be installed. As I mentioned earlier, this method did not work for me, and I will explain why below.
So I’ll start with the way that worked for me. 🙂
Method I. Checking the amount of messages on Messenger using an HTML file
If you want to determine the approximate number of messages exchanged with, for example, a friend or family member with the method I successfully used, follow the steps below.
1. Download messages from Messenger
The first step to check the number of messages on Messenger is to download them. It’s worth knowing that Facebook provides this option in the Messenger app. The user can download the entire database of conversations held with each user since the beginning of their account. There are two formats to choose from – HTML and JSON (the second format allows the data to be transferred to another service). To check the number of messages on Messenger with a person, the HTML format is sufficient.
How to download messages from Messenger:
- open the Messenger app,
- select the three-dash icon (menu) on the top left,
- select the cogwheel icon (settings) next to your profile picture and your username,
- scroll down and in the “Account Centre” section select “Personal details”,
- scroll down to the “Account settings” section and click on “Your information and permissions”,
- uncheck all items except “Messages”,
- select HTML format,
- press the “Request a download”. Your file should be ready within a few minutes, but in some cases (depending on the number of messages) it can take up to a few days. Under the available copies tab, you can check the status of your file preparation. You will also be notified when the file is ready for download,
- when the file is ready, log into Facebook on your computer and click on the bell icon (notifications) and then click on the notification that the file has been created,
select the “Download” button located in the “Downloads” section and wait for the file to download completely.
2. Extract the file
Once the messages have been downloaded from Messenger, the next step is to extract the file. The messages are packed into a zip folder. You can use the built-in program on your computer to unzip it, or if your device doesn’t have it – download the free 7-zip program. Unzip the folder and then open the folder with messages.
3. Find the conversation with the selected person
Open the folder “messages” and then “inbox”. The folders with conversations with individual people are sorted alphabetically. So find the conversation with the person you are interested in. Sometimes, when there are a lot of messages, they are saved in several folders.
4. Open the HTML file
Open a conversation saved in an HTML file. You don’t need any specialised software to open it – all you need is a web browser, such as Chrome, Firefox or Explorer. The content of the message should appear immediately.
5. Use the “command+F” or “ctrl+F” combination
“command+F” (on Mac computers) and “ctrl+F” (on Windows computers) open a window with a search engine. Type the name (Facebook username) of the person in the chat into it and you will see how many times it appears in the conversation. You will then already know how many messages this person has sent to you. Then type your name (your Facebook username) into the search engine and you will see how many messages you have sent to this person.
As I mentioned above, when the conversation is very long, the messages are saved in several folders. You don’t have to open each one separately – by switching pages in the open HTML file, you’ll go straight to displaying more folders. This is because each page is saved in a separate folder.
When you add up the number of messages you have received from a person and the number of messages you have sent yourself, you will know the total number of messages exchanged in a given chat on Messenger. 🙂
Method II. Checking the number of messages on Messenger with a plugin (Chrome extension)
I move on to the second way, which for some reason didn’t work for me, but has worked for others. It requires a browser plug-in called React Developer Tools to be installed on your computer. You will find detailed instructions below.
- Download the React Developer Tool extension,
- log in to your Facebook account on your computer,
- click the Messenger icon in the top right corner and click “Show all in Messenger”,
- open the chat you are interested in,
- open the developer tools using the keyboard shortcut Shift + Ctrl + I (Windows) or command + option + C (Mac),
- in the developer tools, select the “Components” tab,
- type in the search engine “MessengerDetailView.” *
- in the window on the right, press the small arrow next to activeThread,
- scroll down and find the “message_count” item. Next to it, you should see the number of messages exchanged on Messenger with that person.
- Be sure to let me know in the comments if this instruction worked for you 🙂 .
*at this stage, the instruction stopped working for me because the plug-in did not find this command
Summary
In summary, there are ways to check the amount of messages on Messenger. One way is based on downloading an HTML file of Messenger messages and using the contextual search engine. The other way comes down to downloading a browser extension and finding the number of messages in the developer tools.
I hope you found my article helpful. 🙂 Make sure to let me know in the comments which of the ways of checking the number of Messenger messages has worked for you.
