To stop an Android phone from deleting old texts, find the auto-delete setting in the texting app you use and turn it off. In Samsung Messages, tap the three dots, then Settings > More settings, and turn off Delete old messages. Google Messages has no setting that removes old conversations, so there is nothing to switch off there except an optional cleanup of one-time passcodes.
Which of those two answers applies to you depends on your phone and Android version, because Samsung has retired its own Messages app on newer Galaxy phones. This guide explains how to tell which app you have, how to change the setting, how to confirm it worked, and how to protect your texts with a backup. The steps follow Samsung’s Auto delete features on Galaxy phones and tablets page and Google’s Messages and Android help pages as they read in October 2026.
Which Texting App Are You Using?
Android phones do not all use the same texting app, and the auto-delete setting belongs to the app, not to Android itself. Two apps cover most phones:
- Google Messages is the texting app on Google Pixel phones and, according to Samsung, the one that comes preinstalled on the newest Galaxy phones.
- Samsung Messages is Samsung’s older texting app. Samsung says it is no longer supported on Galaxy devices running Android 12 or higher, and that it remains available and functional on devices running Android 11 or lower.
Samsung’s Samsung Messages discontinuation page states that after July 6, 2026, the app can no longer send messages on Android 12 and higher, except to emergency numbers or contacts. If your Galaxy phone runs a recent version of Android, you are most likely using Google Messages now, even if you used Samsung Messages last year.
To check your Android version on a Galaxy phone, open Settings, tap About phone, then tap Software information. The Android version is listed on that screen.
How to Turn Off Delete Old Messages in Samsung Messages
Use these steps on a Galaxy phone that still runs Samsung Messages, which today means Android 11 or lower. Menus can vary by carrier, software version, and model, so a label may sit in a slightly different place on your phone.
- Open the Samsung Messages app. You should see your list of conversations.
- Tap More options (the three vertical dots), then tap Settings.
- Tap More settings.
- Find Delete old messages and tap its switch so it is off.
The change applies right away. There is no Save button, so you can back out of the menu when the switch is off.
What the Delete Old Messages Setting Does
Samsung describes the setting this way: when it is on, the phone deletes your older messages to make room for new ones after 200 texts or 20 multimedia texts are reached. A multimedia text (MMS) is a message that carries a picture, video, or audio clip. The limit is why only the oldest part of a long conversation goes missing, while recent messages stay put.
Turning the setting off means every message stays until you delete it yourself. The trade-off is storage. Long threads full of photos and videos take up more space over time, so check your free space now and then. Our guide to fixing phone storage that is full for no reason on Android covers safer ways to free up room than letting the phone trim your texts.
Google Messages: What It Deletes and What It Keeps
Google’s help pages for Messages do not list any setting that deletes old conversations on a schedule or after a message count. The one automatic cleanup that Samsung’s support page documents for the app applies only to one-time passwords (OTPs), the short sign-in codes that banks and websites text to you.
- Open Google Messages and tap your profile icon.
- Tap Messages settings.
- Tap Message organization.
- Check the switch next to Auto-delete OTPs after 24 hours. Turn it off if you want sign-in codes to stay in your conversations.
Leaving that switch on does not touch normal texts from people. If you do not see Message organization or the OTP switch, your version of the app may not offer it, and no codes are being removed by this feature.
One difference matters a lot before you clean up a thread by hand. Google’s Archive, delete & read conversations page says that a deleted conversation or message cannot be recovered and that the action is permanent. If you only want a conversation out of the way, touch and hold it and tap Archive instead. Archived conversations leave the main list, but you can still read them and move them back.
Confirm the Change Worked
- Samsung Messages: go back to Settings > More settings and make sure the Delete old messages switch is still off.
- Google Messages: open Messages settings > Message organization and confirm the OTP switch matches your choice.
- Any app: scroll to the top of a long conversation over the next few weeks. If the oldest messages are still there as the thread grows, nothing is trimming it.
To undo the change, follow the same steps and turn the switch back on. Be aware that turning Delete old messages on again lets Samsung Messages remove older texts in any thread that is over the limit.
Can You Get Back Texts That Were Already Deleted?
It depends on how they were removed and which app you use. Samsung’s Recover messages deleted from your Galaxy phone page lists these options:
- Samsung Messages Trash: messages you delete by hand go to the Trash and are deleted automatically after 30 days. Tap More options > Trash, touch and hold a message, then tap Restore. Samsung does not say whether texts removed by the Delete old messages setting pass through the Trash, so check there but do not count on it.
- Google Messages archive: deleted texts are gone, but archived ones are not. Look for Archived under the profile icon or the More menu, touch and hold the conversation, and tap Unarchive.
- A backup: messages saved to Samsung Cloud can be restored from Settings > Accounts and backup > Restore data. A Google backup is restored when you set up a phone for the first time or after a factory reset.
Without a Trash copy, an archive, or a backup made before the texts disappeared, neither Samsung nor Google documents a way to bring them back.
Back Up Your Texts So Nothing Is Lost
A backup protects your messages from more than an auto-delete setting. It also covers a lost, broken, or reset phone.
Google backup (any Android phone)
Google’s Back up or restore data on your Android device page lists SMS and MMS messages among the data that is backed up to your Google Account. Open Settings, tap Google, then All services, then Backup, and turn backup on. Tap Back up now to start one right away. Google notes that some of these steps work only on Android 9 and up, and that a backup can take up to 24 hours.
Samsung Cloud (Galaxy phones)
Samsung’s Transfer, backup, or restore Messages on Galaxy phones page gives this route: open Settings, tap Accounts and backup, then tap Back up data under Samsung Cloud. Turn on the switch next to Messages and tap Back up now. The same page explains how to use Smart Switch, Samsung’s transfer tool, to copy messages to a new phone, a computer, or an external drive.
Keep in mind that a backup is a copy from the moment it ran. Texts that were removed before the backup are not in it.
Troubleshooting
You cannot find Delete old messages
The switch exists only in Samsung Messages. If your app has a profile icon in the corner and a Messages settings menu, you are in Google Messages, which does not have that switch. On older Samsung software the option may also sit in a slightly different spot inside More settings.
Samsung Messages will not send texts
On Android 12 or higher this is expected after July 6, 2026. Samsung’s instructions are to open Google Messages and set it as the default when prompted. Samsung says your messages and conversations transfer automatically and that a full transfer may take up to approximately 24 hours, so an incomplete history right after the switch is not a sign that texts were deleted.
A different app is handling your texts
Only one app can be the default texting app. On a Galaxy phone, go to Settings > Apps > Choose default apps > SMS app to see which one is selected, as described on Samsung’s Change the default messaging app page. If it is a carrier or third-party app, look in that app’s settings for its own storage or auto-delete option. For apps other than Samsung’s and Google’s, Samsung’s advice is to contact the app developer.
A whole conversation vanished, not just old messages
The Delete old messages setting trims the oldest part of a thread. A conversation that is missing entirely was more likely archived or deleted by hand. Check Archived in Google Messages and Trash in Samsung Messages before assuming it is gone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Android delete old text messages by default?
Android itself has no single setting for this. Deletion is controlled by the texting app. Samsung Messages has a Delete old messages switch that trims long threads when it is on, and Google Messages has no documented equivalent for regular texts. Whether the Samsung switch starts on or off can differ by phone, so it is worth checking instead of assuming.
How many texts does Samsung Messages keep per conversation?
With Delete old messages on, Samsung says older messages are removed after 200 texts or 20 multimedia texts are reached. With the switch off, there is no automatic trimming.
Will turning off auto-delete use more storage?
Yes, gradually. Plain texts are tiny, but photos and videos in multimedia messages add up. Samsung describes the feature as a way to make room for new messages, so keeping everything means long threads take more space.
Is there a setting to keep messages forever in Google Messages?
There is no such setting because Google’s help pages do not describe any automatic removal of regular conversations. Messages stay until you delete them. The only automatic cleanup that Samsung documents for the app is the optional 24-hour removal of one-time passwords.
Do my texts move over when I switch from Samsung Messages to Google Messages?
Samsung says all messages and conversations transfer automatically, and that it may take up to approximately 24 hours depending on how much data there is. Samsung also notes that when you switch the default texting app, your texts are available in the new app.
Does this work the same way on an iPhone?
No. The iPhone uses a different setting called Keep Messages. See our guide on how to stop an iPhone from deleting old messages for those steps.
Next Step
Once the setting is off, run one backup today so your current conversations have a safety copy. For more Android help, see our Android guides, or try these related articles: how to unblock a number on Android, where the clipboard is on Android, and how to turn on notification reminders on Samsung.
Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read hundreds of millions of times.
After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.
His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.