How to View Chat History

Chatting online is a way to communicate with other people in real time who aren't able to be in the same location at the same time. This could be for casual, business or educational chats. For some, it might be important to save the history of a chat. With a saved chat history, you can review important facts or keep minutes for an online board meeting. A saved chat history can also be a personal memento that loved ones can view to bring back memories of things that happened in the past.

Google Talk

• 1

  Log in to your Gmail account. Type in your user name and password and click the "Login" button.

• 2

  Browse the left side of your browser window until you see the link "Chats" with a little speech bubble to the right of it. If the link isn't visible, you might need to click the link that says "More" and has an arrow pointing down next to it.

• 3

  Click the "Chats" link to open a list of your Google Talk chat histories. In the main section of your browser window is a list of your conversations. Click the conversation you wish to view.

Facebook Chat

• 1

  Open your browser and go to Facebook. If you aren't logged in, type in your information at the top of the page and click the "Login" button. (See Resources)

• 2

  Click the "Chat" link in the bottom-right section of your Facebook homepage.

• 3

  Click the friend whose chat history you would like to see. If the friend you are looking for is not online, you might have to wait for her to be online as Facebook only allows you to see the histories of friends who are currently online.

Windows Live Messenger

• 1

  Open Windows Live Messenger by going to "Start" and "All Programs." Scroll through until you find the "Windows Live" folder and click "Windows Live Messenger" option inside of it.

• 2

  Click the "Show Menu" button that is located just below the email button, near the top right of the messenger window.

• 3

  Go to "File" and then "View Message History" on the menu that appears when you click the "Show Menu" button.

• 4

  Click the contact whose history you would like to view and click the "OK" button at the bottom of the view message history window. A window will open showing the chat history between you and the contact you selected.