WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. One of the key features of WhatsApp is the ability to delete sent messages, either just for yourself or for everyone in the conversation. But there has been some confusion around whether deleting a message for everyone completely removes it from the recipient’s chat in the latest versions of WhatsApp.
How WhatsApp’s delete for everyone feature works
WhatsApp introduced the delete for everyone feature in 2017. This feature allows you to delete a message you’ve sent, removing it from your chat as well as the recipient’s chat, as long as you delete it within 1 hour, 8 minutes, and 16 seconds of sending it. Here’s a quick rundown of how it works:
- Tap and hold on the message you want to delete.
- Tap the trash icon to open the delete menu.
- Select “Delete for everyone.”
- The message will be replaced by text alerting everyone that a message was deleted.
This feature relies on WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption. When you select delete for everyone, it invalidates the encryption keys needed to decrypt the message. This prevents the recipients’ apps from being able to decrypt and display the message.
Has this changed in the latest WhatsApp version?
There has been some confusion recently over whether the delete for everyone feature still fully deletes messages in the latest versions of WhatsApp. Some users have reported that, even after deleting a message for everyone, traces of it still remain in their chat history.
This confusion seems to stem from a change WhatsApp made in 2020 to how deletions are represented in chat history. Previously, when a message was deleted for everyone, it would be completely erased from the chat with no indication it was ever there. But in their 2020 update, WhatsApp started displaying a text placeholder indicating a message was deleted:
[Message deleted]
This makes it more transparent when a message has been removed. However, it does not mean the message content itself is still visible or accessible in any way. The underlying encryption keys are still invalidated by delete for everyone, so the message contents are not stored. The placeholder text is just displayed where the message used to be.
Does delete for everyone still fully delete messages?
According to WhatsApp’s documentation and confirmation from security researchers, deleting a message for everyone continues to fully remove the message contents from recipients’ chats in the latest versions of WhatsApp.
When you select delete for everyone within the time limit, the encryption keys for that message are irrevocably discarded. Without these keys, it is cryptographically impossible for anyone’s WhatsApp app to decrypt and display the contents of that message. The message is completely and permanently deleted.
The [Message deleted] placeholder text does not indicate the message contents still reside on recipients’ devices. It is purely a user interface change to show where a message used to be before it was deleted.
What gets deleted when you delete a WhatsApp message?
Here is what gets deleted when you use WhatsApp’s delete for everyone feature:
- The message contents – text, images, videos, documents, etc. These become cryptographically erased and irrecoverable.
- Information about the sender. The placeholder will not indicate who the message was from.
- Metadata about the deletion time or date. Recipients have no indication when the message was originally sent or deleted.
- Replies to the deleted message remain in the chat history.
- If it was a group message, the other group members remain visible.
So in summary, all traces of the message contents and sender are erased. Only the fact that a message used to exist is indicated by the placeholder text.
Can you recover a deleted WhatsApp message?
Since the delete for everyone feature cryptographically erases the message contents, there is no way to retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages sent or received from someone else’s device.
However, it is possible to recover deleted WhatsApp messages from your own device under certain conditions:
- You recently deleted the message and have an intact local WhatsApp backup from before the deletion.
- You have a stored media file from the deleted WhatsApp chat.
- You made a screenshot of the message before deleting it.
- You have the message contents saved somewhere outside of WhatsApp (e.g. in an email or notes app).
But if the message was successfully deleted from your own device and backups, then there is no way to retrieve that specific message content.
Does WhatsApp notify the sender if you screenshot their message?
WhatsApp does not directly notify or alert someone if you take a screenshot of their chat or message. This applies to both individual and group chats.
Some key points about WhatsApp screenshot notifications:
- The sender receives no notification from WhatsApp when you screenshot their messages.
- The sender won’t see any indicator or read receipt that a screenshot occurred.
- You can take screenshots silently even with read receipts and blue ticks enabled.
- Other apps like Snapchat do notify if you screenshot a chat.
The one exception is if you have a modded or hacked version of WhatsApp with extra screenshot tools enabled. These may automatically send a message to notify the other person of a screenshot.
But in the official WhatsApp versions for iOS, Android, and Windows, you can screenshot messages to your heart’s content without the sender ever knowing.
Does WhatsApp notify the sender if you forward their message?
Unlike taking a screenshot, forwarding someone else’s WhatsApp message to another chat does notify the original sender. Here’s what happens when you forward a WhatsApp message originally sent by someone else:
- The original sender receives a notification saying “You forwarded this message.”
- The notification shows the name of the chat it was forwarded to.
- If forwarded to an individual, their name appears. If forwarded to a group, the group name appears.
- The original sender sees this notification immediately after you forward the message.
So while WhatsApp doesn’t disclose screenshots, it does disclose when a message is forwarded elsewhere. This gives the original sender a heads up their message content is being shared.
Conclusions
To summarize the key points about WhatsApp’s delete for everyone feature:
- It continues to fully erase messages in the latest WhatsApp versions.
- The [Message deleted] placeholder is just for interface transparency, not because the message remains.
- Deleted messages cannot be recovered from other people’s devices.
- You can screenshot WhatsApp messages without the sender being notified.
- Forwarding a message does notify the original sender.
So while WhatsApp’s UI may look slightly different when a message is deleted, the cryptographic deletion remains just as secure. Users can continue to rely on delete for everyone to completely remove messages from recipients’ chats.