Keep this boundary.
Deleting secure storage is a destructive last step, not a routine PIN reset.
Keep any readable history available while you consider the choices. The page does not offer a PIN bypass or a recovery guarantee.
Recovery choices are alternatives.
Use only a route offered to your account and supported by access you already control. These are not steps everyone must complete.
A device still shows the history
Keep it available while reviewing the choices. Do not clear its data merely to remove the PIN prompt.
Compare your devices →Another configured method is offered
Use your own saved recovery access through the official prompt. Availability varies.
Understand recovery methods →No usable method?
Read the official reset warning. Deleting secure storage permanently deletes its encrypted history; it is not a third recovery path.
Preserve a copy while you assess recovery.
- 01
Preserve access
Read the restoration choices Messenger shows for your account and device.
What this tells youYou know the choices actually offered to this account.
Keep any device that still shows the history available. Do not erase it just to clear a prompt.
- 02
Recovery choices
Try only a method you previously configured or can authenticate to.
What this tells youYou are using your own available recovery access.
A saved code, a one-time-code route or a linked cloud key is useful only if offered and under your control.
- 03
Reset consequence
Do not delete secure storage unless you understand that its encrypted history will be permanently deleted.
What this tells youYou have read the permanent-loss consequence.
If the warning is unclear, pause. Creating a new recovery method cannot recreate an unavailable backup.
Match the method to its prerequisite.
| Possible method | Needed first | Boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Previously saved recovery code | The code you saved and an offered code-recovery route. | A new code is not a copy of lost history. |
| One-time code option | The account/device access required by the official prompt. | It is not an instruction to share a code with another person. |
| Linked Apple / Google key | A previously linked key and authorized access to that account. | Do not enter a cloud-account password on this guide. |
| Secure-storage deletion | An explicit decision after reading the loss warning. | Destructive; not an equivalent recovery method. |
A new method cannot rebuild a lost copy.
Options and availability can differ by account and device; a new code cannot recreate a backup that is no longer available.
A recovery method
A way to access a saved encrypted copy, where available.
The history itself
The messages must still exist in an accessible copy.
References and current instructions
Go to the source.
Device labels and feature availability can change; use the current official page before taking action.
Explains the permanent-loss consequence of deleting secure storage.
Explains how your existing secure-storage PIN is used on a new device.
Explains protection in transit and recovering personal encrypted history.