Viewing stored chat messages in zoom App

Archived chat messages are stored for up to 10 years using Zoom’s cloud, which leverages AWS DynamoDB. Archived chat messages can be viewed in the following formats:

• Text messages (chat)
• Screenshots, code snippets, and file names (not downloadable)
• Reactions to chat messages and the display names of the users that reacted
• to audio messages (only the notification that an audio message was sent)

The chat history tool allows you to view the following chat types:

• Chatting one-on-one, in groups, or in channels
• Chats sent or received by internal and external users

Prerequisites for viewing stored chat messages

• Administrator rights or account owner privileges
• if you have a Pro, Business, Education, or Enterprise account
• Version 3.5 of Zoom’s desktop client or mobile app is required to store messages
• securely. Advanced chat encryption is not enabled. Chat history is limited if Advanced chat encryption is enabled.

Notes:

• After August 21, 2021; or if the New Admin Experience is enabled on your Zoom account, the chat history tool will be moved to Reports (Account Management > Reports > User Activity Reports tab > Chat History).
• When a user switches from a free account to a paid account, account owners and admins can access chat history only from the moment the user became a paid account.

How to enable or disable group messaging archiving

You can enable group messaging archiving on your account by following these steps:

1. Log in to the Zoom web portal.
2. Select Account Management from the navigation menu.
3. Select the IM Settings tab.
4. Enable or disable Cloud storage under Storage.
5. Verify the change by choosing Turn On.
6. Choose the amount of time the chat messages should be saved for. Zoom keeps messages on its Cloud for up to ten years.

Find out more about chat storage settings.

Note: The Chat History tab in the Account tab is only accessible by the account owner by default. By adding the Chat history permission through role-based access control, account owners can give other admins and users access to their chat history.

How to view and download stored messages

1. Log into Zoom’s web portal.
2. Choose Account Management and then IM Management from the navigation menu.
3. Click the Chat History tab.
4. Specify a time period using the From and To fields.
   Note: The time period can be up to 1 year.
5. (Optional) Enter a user’s name or email to search for messages sent or received by a specific user.
6. Click Search.
7. Use these options to view or download messages:

• View: View messages for the associated 1-on-1, group, or channel chat conversation.
• Download: Download messages for the associated 1-on-1, group, or channel chat conversation as a CSV file.
• Compress All for Download: Compress each chat thread in the current search results as a ZIP file containing CSV files. You will be redirected to the Downloads tab to download the ZIP file when it’s finish processing. ZIP files will be password protected. In the Downloads tab, click Show in the File Password column to view the password to extract each ZIP file.
• Note: External users will have the EXTERNAL label beside their email address.

How to delete stored messages

You can also delete messages, files, or images for internal users. Other admins with permissions to view or edit chat history will be able to view the name of the admin that deleted the message. Deleted messages are still viewable in the chat history tool but are crossed out to indicate it’s been deleted.

Both the Zoom desktop client and Zoom mobile app delete deleted messages. If a message is deleted, it will be deleted for all users in the 1-on-1 or group chat, but only the user who sent the message will receive a notification message stating that the message has been deleted. The replies will not be deleted if the deleted message is a parent message with replies.

Note: In role management, you must have permission to edit chat history.

1. Log in to Zoom’s web portal.
2. Select Account Management and then IM Management from the navigation menu.
3. Select the Chat History tab.
4. Use the fields From and To to choose a time period.
   Note: You can choose a time period up to one year.
5. Click Search and enter an email address.
6. You can delete a message by clicking the trash bin button when you hover over it.