WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. With so many messages sent and received, your chat history can quickly become cluttered. Fortunately, WhatsApp makes it easy to delete chats and keep your inbox tidy.
Delete an individual chat
To delete a specific chat:
- Open WhatsApp and go to the Chats tab
- Tap and hold the chat you want to delete
- Tap Delete chat
- Tap Delete chat again to confirm
This will completely delete the entire chat history with that contact. They will still exist in your contacts list, but all record of your past conversations with them will be erased.
Delete multiple chats
You can also delete multiple chats at once:
- Go to the Chats tab and tap the menu icon (three vertical dots)
- Tap Select chats
- Check the boxes next to all the chats you want to delete
- Tap the trash icon to delete all selected chats
This is useful for bulk-deleting old chats you no longer need.
Delete all chats
To delete all your chats simultaneously:
- Go to Settings > Chats > Delete all chats
- Tap Delete all chats
- Confirm again by tapping Delete all chats
This will immediately wipe your entire chat history. Be careful as there is no way to undo this action.
Deleted chats are erased forever
WhatsApp states deleted chats are permanently erased from its servers, as well as the sender and recipient’s devices. So don’t count on being able to recover erased messages.
However, keep in mind that:
- Deleted chats may still appear in notification previews or widgets until you force close the app
- Backups from before chats were deleted will retain those conversations
- If a recipient had their chat notifications enabled, they may still have parts of the conversation saved
So for complete privacy, also delete WhatsApp from your cloud backups and enable disappearing messages via Settings.
How to delete individual messages
Deleting entire conversations is blunt force, but necessary if you want completely remove sensitive information exchanged with a contact. However, in most cases you likely just want to remove select messages from a chat.
To delete specific messages:
- Open the chat containing the message(s) you want to delete
- Tap and hold the message bubble you want to delete
- Tap Delete message
- Confirm by tapping Delete for everyone
The message will be permanently removed for both you and the other person. This helps prune chat histories without losing the entire context.
Enable disappearing messages
WhatsApp also offers an excellent built-in option to make your chats ephemeral. Enabling disappearing messages will automatically delete old messages after a set amount of time.
To configure disappearing messages:
- Open a chat
- Tap the contact’s name at the top
- Tap Disappearing messages
- Select a duration for messages to expire after
Once enabled, new messages will delete automatically after the chosen duration. This is great for chats you want to auto-purge for privacy reasons.
How to delete WhatsApp messages remotely
Normally when deleting a WhatsApp message, you have to have physical access to your device. However, there is a handy trick that lets you remotely delete WhatsApp messages from another device.
Here’s how to delete WhatsApp messages from a computer:
- Install the WhatsApp desktop app on your computer
- Link the desktop app to your WhatsApp account on your phone
- On your computer, open the chat containing the message to delete
- Hover your mouse over the message and click Delete
The message will be deleted from your WhatsApp on all linked devices, including your phone. This works even if your phone is offline.
Recover deleted WhatsApp messages
As mentioned earlier, deleting WhatsApp messages is permanent. They cannot normally be retrieved once erased. However, there are a couple last ditch techniques that may be able to recover deleted messages:
Undelete from a backup
If you have a backup of your WhatsApp from before the message was deleted, you can restore this backup to recover deleted messages. Just be aware that this will also overwrite any newer messages.
Extract from notification history
On Android, apps like Notification History can sometimes extract deleted WhatsApp messages if they were previewed in a notification. However this is not guaranteed to work.
So the only surefire way to recover deleted WhatsApp messages is from a backup made before they were erased. Enable backups regularly to prevent permanent data loss.
Does deleting messages delete them for everyone?
No, when you delete WhatsApp messages on your device, it does not delete them from the recipient’s chat history. The messages will only be erased for everyone if you use the ‘Delete for everyone’ option.
To recap the difference:
| Delete method | Result |
|---|---|
| Delete for me | Deletes only from your device |
| Delete for everyone | Deletes from you and recipient’s devices |
So unless you delete a message ‘for everyone’, the recipient can still view it in their chat history, even if it’s gone from your app.
Clear call history
In addition to chats, WhatsApp also keeps a log of your call history. This contains all incoming and outgoing calls through the app.
To clear your call history:
- Go to Settings > Calls
- Tap Clear call log
- Confirm by tapping Clear call log again
This will wipe your entire call history log clean. As with chats, clearing your call log only removes it from your device, not others.
Delete WhatsApp account
The most nuclear option is deleting your entire WhatsApp account. This completely erases all your local data and deactivates your account.
To delete your WhatsApp account:
- Go to Settings > Account > Delete my account
- Enter your phone number and tap Delete my account
Once confirmed, your account will be scheduled for deletion and deactivated. After 30 days your account is permanently erased from WhatsApp’s servers.
Keep in mind this also deletes your WhatsApp backups. You can never reactivate the same account or number again – it’s gone for good.
Conclusions
Here are some key points to summarize how to delete WhatsApp chats and messages:
- Delete individual chats or messages for privacy
- Enable disappearing messages for automatic self-destructing chats
- Back up important messages before deleting anything
- Deleted WhatsApp data cannot be recovered once erased
- Recipient’s chat history is unaffected if you only ‘Delete for me’
- Clear call history to remove your WhatsApp call logs
With great messaging power comes great deleting responsibility. Use WhatsApp’s delete capabilities wisely to curate your ideal chat experience.