Read deleted and unsent messages from WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Telegram notifications.
Offline, encrypted, open-source Android app. No ads, no trackers, no account.
An offline, encrypted archive of the message previews your messaging apps show in notifications. If someone deletes or unsends a message after its notification reached your phone, you can still read what the notification said.
Android app, open source (Apache-2.0). No ads, no trackers, no analytics, no account. Works fully offline; the only network use is an optional update check that you have to allow first.
UnsendVault works only through Android's Notification Access, which you grant in system settings. It keeps a copy of the text that notifications showed, on your phone, from the moment you grant access.
It can:
- archive message previews from WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram, Signal, Google Messages and other apps that post message notifications, grouped by app and conversation, searchable. (Verified on a Pixel 6 / Android 17 with Google Messages SMS and synthetic MessagingStyle notifications; the third-party messenger adapters are so far covered by unit tests only. See docs/TEST_REPORT.md.);
- keep earlier versions when a notification's text for the same message changes ("updated");
- mark a message possibly deleted when the source app itself showed a marker such as "This message was deleted" or "unsent a message" and it matches exactly one archived message. The marker is shown as the evidence.
It cannot:
- recover anything from before you granted access, or from while capture was paused or stopped;
- read chats you have open on screen (apps usually post no notification for them), chats you muted if the app posts nothing for them, or apps where previews are hidden ("New message");
- save photos, videos, voice notes or files; you get a placeholder such as "Photo";
- read content Android withholds from apps like this one: Android 15+ may hide one-time codes (in our test it did not, which is why UnsendVault's own code filter is on by default), and Android 17+ may withhold end-to-end encrypted messages (Google lists "Restricted message access" without documenting the details; see docs/PRODUCT_RESEARCH.md);
- tell whether a message was deleted just because its notification disappeared. Dismissing or reading a message also removes notifications, so that is never treated as deletion;
- fetch anything from a server, a chat backup or another device. It is not a recovery tool and not a monitoring tool.
- reply once a chat's notification is gone. Replying from UnsendVault works only through the chat app's own notification reply button, while that notification is still showing; UnsendVault never connects to a chat service.
Some phone makers stop background apps aggressively. If capture stops, the app shows it and helps you reconnect; see Reliability.
- Archive by app, conversation and message, newest first; full-text search with app and date filters
- Reply from a chat in UnsendVault through the chat app's own notification reply action, while that notification is showing (WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business, Viber, Telegram and others that offer a reply button). Otherwise an "Open app" button takes you to the chat app
- Optional "messages saved" notification per chat (off by default, silent); tap it to open the chat. Names and text only if you allow it, never on the lock screen and never while the app lock is on
- Choose which tab the archive opens on: Recent, Chats or Apps
- Message detail with update history, capture times, and deletion evidence when there is any
- Favorites (kept by auto-delete)
- Pause and resume capture; save all chat apps except excluded ones, or only the apps you select (new chat apps are offered with one tap); work-profile and other-profile apps included; "messages only" mode (default on)
- One-time-code and sensitive-number filter before anything is stored (default on)
- Auto-delete after N days (default 30; 0 keeps forever), run by a daily background job
- App lock with fingerprint, face or screen lock; relock timeout; hide content in Recents and block screenshots
- Encrypted export and import (password-based) to a file you choose
- Five home-screen widgets: archive count, recent, favorites, app summary, capture control. They show counts and app names only unless you turn on content, and never content while the app lock is on
- Material 3, light/dark/AMOLED, dynamic color on Android 12+
Requires Android 8.0 (API 26) or newer.
Synthetic demo data only.
| Archive | Conversation | Possibly deleted |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
| Update history | Search | Settings |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
- Download
UnsendVault-<version>.apkfrom the latest release. - Verify it (below).
- Open it on your phone and allow installing from your browser or file manager when asked.
- Open UnsendVault and follow the setup. On Android 13 and later, Android may block Notification Access for apps installed from a file. If the switch is greyed out: Settings > Apps > UnsendVault > ⋮ (top right) > Allow restricted settings, then grant Notification Access again.
UnsendVault is not on Google Play. Updates are new APKs on the Releases page, signed with the same key; Android refuses an update signed by anyone else.
Each release lists the APK's SHA-256 and the signing certificate's SHA-256, and ships UnsendVault-<version>.apk.sha256.
sha256sum --check UnsendVault-1.0.57.apk.sha256 # UnsendVault-1.0.57.apk: OK
apksigner verify --print-certs UnsendVault-1.0.57.apk # compare "certificate SHA-256 digest" with the release notesOfficial signing certificate (SHA-256):
e4:43:c8:69:aa:cc:20:5d:6c:41:c9:17:f9:4a:6a:83:be:4c:00:53:c2:4b:0d:24:6c:c7:74:ff:75:13:51:97
apksigner is part of the Android SDK build-tools. The signing certificate is the same for every release; if a
release ever shows a different one, do not install it and open an issue. Details: docs/RELEASING.md.
- Everything stays on your phone. The only network request the app can make is an opt-in update check to
api.github.com(at most once a day while the app is open, never in the background, nothing from your archive is sent; see docs/UPDATES.md). Network code is confined to one package by a test, the build fails if any permission outside a short allowlist appears, and every release APK is checked again before publishing. - Message text, sender names and conversation titles are encrypted in the archive (AES-256-GCM, per field) with a key protected by the Android Keystore that cannot leave the device, so Android cloud backup and device transfer are disabled. App names, times and message counts are not encrypted by the app (Android's own storage encryption still covers them). Use Export to make an encrypted backup file.
- Updating from 1.0.15: that version's archive format can't be read any more, so it is replaced by a new, empty archive. Export a backup in 1.0.15 first, then import it after updating.
- Nothing is sent to the developer or anyone else: no analytics, crash reporting, ads or third-party SDKs.
- The archive contains messages other people sent you. Please respect that: keep retention short, exclude apps you do not need, and follow the law where you live.
Full details: PRIVACY.md. Security reports: SECURITY.md.
| Permission | Why |
|---|---|
| Notification Access (granted by you in system settings) | Read message notifications |
INTERNET |
Only the opt-in update check to api.github.com |
POST_NOTIFICATIONS |
Only the optional "messages saved" notifications (off by default; Android 13+ asks you first) |
USE_BIOMETRIC / USE_FINGERPRINT |
App lock |
WAKE_LOCK, RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED |
Used by WorkManager for the daily auto-delete job and widget updates; reschedules after reboot |
That is the complete list (plus an internal, non-exported broadcast permission that AndroidX adds).
- The app and the capture widget show whether capture is running, paused, needs access, or was disconnected.
- If it was disconnected, opening the app asks Android to reconnect the listener.
- On phones that stop background apps (see dontkillmyapp.com), set UnsendVault's battery usage to "Unrestricted" / "Don't optimize" and allow autostart if your phone has that option. The status screen links to the right settings page.
- No foreground service, no exact alarms, no polling: widgets and lists update only when something changes.
Requirements: JDK 21 (bytecode targets 17), Android SDK with platform 37 (platforms;android-37.0) and build-tools
37.0.0. Gradle 9.8.2 comes through the wrapper.
git clone https://github.com/riyadmondol2006/UnsendVault.git
cd UnsendVault
./gradlew :app:assembleDebug # app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk (id com.riyadm.unsendvault.debug)
./gradlew :app:testDebugUnitTest :app:lintDebug :app:verifyPermissionsDebug
./gradlew -q :app:printVersionA signed release build needs your own key (keystore.properties or the SIGNING_* environment variables); see
docs/RELEASING.md. Builds made with a different key cannot update an installed official release.
- docs/PRODUCT_RESEARCH.md: scope, platform research with sources, risks
- docs/IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md: architecture, data flow, algorithms, security, testing
- docs/WIDGET_DESIGN.md: widgets
- docs/RELEASING.md: CI, signing, versions, verification
- docs/TEST_REPORT.md: what was tested on a real device, defects found, and what was not tested
- CONTRIBUTING.md, CHANGELOG.md
Copyright 2026 riyadmondol2006. Licensed under the Apache License 2.0. Third-party components and their licenses are listed in NOTICE.
UnsendVault is an independent project and is not affiliated with WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Meta, Telegram, Signal, Google or any other messaging service. Product names are used only to describe compatibility.