How to Recover Steam Chat

Looking to get messages sent and received via Steam back? So do many people, we included. However, even after years of updates, some things still haven’t been worked out, and chat history is partially one of them. Yes, the situation is much better than it’s been, where closing the chat window meant no one could retrieve the messages. But this can still happen (although not frequently), and even when they remain visible, the storage history is not extensive. This could be fixed with a Steam data archive, such as the one we mentioned in Snapchat message recovery. Nonetheless, we’ll do our best to show you how to recover Steam chat.

1. Utilize Steam Friend Chat Messages

After repeated complaints of users losing their Steam conversations, Steam came up with an easy solution. Visiting Steam’s Friend Chat Messages while logged in to your Steam account lists the latest messages by sender/recipient and time sent. However, it doesn’t go too far back due to a built-in limit. Still, it’s useful for the recent chats on Steam.

2. Recover Steam chat by installing the smartphone app

This is the safest option since you’re not relying on third-party software. We already mentioned the problem with Steam Chat in the web browser or inside the Steam client. Having an Internet connection drop, or closing the tab/software you’re chatting in can cause your Steam chat to disappear permanently and irrevocably. Users discovered that when using a smartphone app caused the messages to re-appear. The reason? The app can fetch data from both Steam servers and/or smartphone storage.

Guidelines

Here are 3 things to keep in mind:

• Having the app installed and the Internet turned on (for syncing) before you lost the Steam chat increases the chances of recovery.
• Staying logged in to Steam on a web browser/computer might help.
• Don’t expect to recover very old history. We were able to see about 200 previous messages in our test, a little more than with the method above.

Steps required to restore Steam messages on Android/iOS

Steam chat recovery via the Steam app works like this:

1. Install the Steam smartphone app.
   
2. Open the Friends (bottom left corner icon) or Group Chat page (bottom right corner).
3. Tap on the friend’s/group’s name or icon.
4. After a second, Steam chat should begin to appear.
5. Scroll up to find the messages you need.

3. Recover Steam chat history by using the web version of Steam

You can use the web version of Steam to get back your chat messages. How awesome is that? The web version of Steam is like the desktop client or the mobile app, but you can use it on any device with a web browser and an internet connection. You don’t have to install anything or update anything. And sometimes, it works better than the other versions. It may have fewer bugs or glitches that can make your chat messages go poof.

So, how do you use the web version of Steam to recover your chat history? It’s super easy. Just do this:

1. Open your web browser and go to (https://store.steampowered.com/).
2. Click on “Login” in the top right corner and enter your Steam account details. If you don’t have access to it, you can recover your Steam account.
3. Click on your username in the top right corner and select “Friends & Chat” from the drop-down menu. The step might vary based on the updates. You will see an option “Chat” somewhere on the screen.
4. You will see a list of your friends and groups on the left panel. Click on the one that you want to recover chat history from.
5. You will see your chat messages on the right panel. You can scroll up or down to find the messages that you want to recover.

But don’t get too excited. This method may not work for all chat messages. Some chat messages may not be visible on the web version of Steam, or they may be deleted by Steam over time. So, don’t rely on this method too much. It’s not guaranteed to recover all of your Steam chat history.

4. Recover Steam chat with Chat Logger

This method won’t work if the Steam chat is already lost. Instead, this is a way to ensure you never have to worry about losing Steam conversations again. The three tools below will log everything you send or receive via Steam. The messages are then compiled by date and time, and you can search through them anytime and offline. Even messages from people you blocked or have removed as friends will be logged, even though you can’t see them in the official Steam app.

1. Using ChatLogger.JS

Very useful, open-source, and lightweight. As the name suggests, Steam Chat Logger is a Node.js script that will stay in your system tray, and silently keep logs of all your message exchanges. Simply click on the Code button, then Download ZIP. You can run it directly if you have Node.js installed, or open the chatlogger.bat file on Windows.

2. Using sp0ok3r’s ChatLogger

It has the same base functionality as the one above and is also open-source. The differences? It’s written in C#, comes with a beautiful dark-themed GUI (Graphical User Interface) and additional settings. You can also change the directory where it saves chat logs, and store conversations on multiple Steam accounts. Here’s how to install and use it.

1. Visit sp0ok3r’s ChatLogger Releases page.
2. Click on Assets > ChatLogger[version].zip.
3. Extract the archive and run ChatLogger.exe.
4. Click on Add Account, enter Steam account details, and click Submit.
5. Use the Settings tab to configure how it works (hidden in the taskbar, minimized, in-tray, starts with Windows, etc.)

3. Using SteamTimeIdler’s Save Chat Logs

SteamTimeIdler’s Save Chat Logs feature is a web-based Dashboard, more powerful than the apps above, and with a prettier interface. It’s reputable, Steam approves of it, it works for all Steam games, comes with customer support, and will log the chat automatically when you’re idling. You don’t even need to have Steam installed or keep the app running – messages will continue to arrive and be stored. The downside is that this is a paid application. However, you can utilize a 1-game, 6-hour free trial to test it out.

5. Use data recovery software to get Steam messages back

If the first two methods failed and it’s too late for the third, you need a last resort option. Well, we’re here to provide it. Although this technically works on Steam apps for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS, we think only the last two stand a chance. This is because the storage is typically smaller on smartphones, and thus the chance Steam chats were overwritten is lower. With that said, check method 2 in our “how to recover Keepsafe photos” guide Follow the same steps, except that in step 7, you should select the Documents/App Documents category.