Press kit

Retracted is an iPhone app that keeps the text of the messages you receive on Instagram, WhatsApp, iMessage, Messenger and Telegram, so a message the sender deletes or unsends stays readable. It is built on the Notification automation trigger that the Shortcuts app gained in iOS 27: a shortcut the user installs and turns on forwards each messaging notification to the app, which stores it on the iPhone. There is no account and no server, and nothing leaves the phone. Retracted is made by Younes Beaila, an independent developer in France, and has been on the App Store since October 9, 2026.

Key facts

How it works

iOS does not let apps read notifications. Since iOS 27, a Shortcuts automation can run when a notification arrives, and only the user can create it and turn it on. Retracted ships that shortcut ready to use: during setup the user adds it and turns on one switch. From then on, each messaging notification is passed to an App Intent inside Retracted, which saves the sender, text, app and time on the device.

When Instagram shows its “unsent” notice, Retracted matches it to the messages it just kept from Instagram and shows the original: one candidate is revealed directly, several are listed. Other apps don’t announce deletions, so their deleted messages simply stay readable in the contact’s thread.

Privacy

Messages are stored only in the app’s private storage on the iPhone. The app has no server, no account and no advertising, analytics or crash-reporting SDK; purchases go through Apple. The app can be locked with Face ID, messages can be kept for 7 days, 30 days or indefinitely, contacts can be excluded and everything can be erased. Retracted only keeps what the user already received as a notification on their own phone. See the privacy policy.

Pricing

Free: every message is kept, the last 24 hours are readable and the first unsent message is revealed. Premium unlocks the full history, every deleted message and full search: €2.99 per week, €19.99 per year with a 7-day free trial, or €39.99 once. Prices in euros; the App Store shows local prices.

Limits

• Only messages received after setup are kept; nothing from before can be recovered.
• Notification previews must be on, and a conversation that is open on screen sends no notification.
• Text only: photos, videos and voice messages are not kept.
• Only Instagram signals unsent messages, so alerts are Instagram-only.
• When many messages arrive within seconds, iOS may skip some.
• Snapchat is not supported: its notifications don’t contain the message text.

About the maker

Retracted is designed and built by Younes Beaila, an independent developer based in France. It is a one-person project with no outside funding.

Assets

Free to use in coverage of Retracted. Screenshots show fictional conversations.

• App icon, 1024 × 1024 PNG
• App icon (dark), 1024 × 1024 PNG

Screenshots, 660 × 1434 JPEG

• Unsent message revealed
• Unsent alert
• Home
• Private by design

French screenshots : Unsent message revealed · Unsent alert · Home · Private by design

Contact

Interviews, review requests, questions: hello@retracted.app. Premium access for review is available on request.