# Can I recover my note?

**URL:** <https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/can-i-recover-my-note/50441>\
**Category:** Development\
**Created:** [18 July 2026 08:43 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/can-i-recover-my-note/50441 "2026-07-18T08:43:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Salmonella](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7c8e57/32.png) [@Salmonella](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/Salmonella)\
**Post date:** [18 July 2026 08:43 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/can-i-recover-my-note/50441/1 "2026-07-18T08:43:03Z")

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### Operating system

Android

### Joplin version

3.6.21

### Desktop version info

Android Version 16 Nothin 3a OS 4.1

### Sync target

File system

### Editor

Markdown Editor

### What issue do you have?

I accidentally selected several pages within an existing note on Android (Joplin 3.6.21) and pressed Backspace. The note auto-saved. Note History was disabled, so Previous Versions is empty. The note still exists, but much of its content is gone. I have not uninstalled the app or cleared storage. Is it worth extracting database.sqlite and checking the revisions table or the WAL (database.sqlite-wal) for remnants of the deleted content, or does Joplin permanently overwrite edited note bodies when Note History is disabled?

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**Author:** ![mrjo118](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/mrjo118/32/23404_2.png) [@mrjo118](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/mrjo118)\
**Post date:** [18 July 2026 19:59 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/can-i-recover-my-note/50441/2 "2026-07-18T19:59:50Z")

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Unfortunately I don't think there is any way you can recover the old contents without note history, unless you made manual backups, or sync with the desktop app as well and have the backup plugin enabled there

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**Author:** ![Piotr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/839c29/32.png) [@Piotr](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/Piotr)\
**Post date:** [18 July 2026 20:25 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/can-i-recover-my-note/50441/3 "2026-07-18T20:25:25Z")

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BTW is note history off or on by default?

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**Author:** ![boring10](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/discourse.joplinapp.org/boring10/32/1684_2.png) [@boring10](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/u/boring10)\
**Post date:** [18 July 2026 21:51 UTC](https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/can-i-recover-my-note/50441/4 "2026-07-18T21:51:19Z")

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It's on by default for 90 days.

> **[How to configure the note history feature?​ - Note History | Joplin](https://joplinapp.org/help/apps/note_history/#how-to-configure-the-note-history-feature)**
>
> Additional options are available in the Note History page of the Configuration screen. It is possible to enable/disable the note history feature. It is also possible to specify for how long the history of a note should be kept (by default, for 90...