WhatsApp gives users the option to delete messages after they’ve been sent. However, instead of saying “delete for everyone”, the option says “delete for me”. This often causes confusion, as users expect deleting a message to remove it for all recipients, not just themselves.
There are a few reasons behind why WhatsApp uses this terminology:
Privacy
WhatsApp cannot guarantee that a message will be deleted for everyone in all cases. For example, if the recipient has disabled read receipts, WhatsApp has no way of knowing if they’ve read the message before it’s deleted. The message will be deleted from the sender’s device, but not necessarily the recipient’s.
By saying “delete for me”, WhatsApp sets accurate expectations. The message will definitely be deleted from your device, but not necessarily others. This prevents users from mistakenly thinking a message has been deleted universally when that may not be the case.
Technical limitations
On a technical level, WhatsApp has no way to force a message deletion on someone else’s device. When you request to delete a message, WhatsApp simply sends a recall request to the recipient’s device. If the message has already been read or the device is offline, the request may not go through.
Again, using “delete for me” recognizes these technical constraints. WhatsApp has full control to delete messages from your device, but not others.
User control
By saying “delete for me”, WhatsApp gives recipients more control. Recipients may want to keep received messages, even if the sender deletes them. WhatsApp’s terminology makes it clear that recipients have discretion over whether to comply with delete requests.
If WhatsApp said “delete for everyone”, it could wrongly imply that recipients are forced to delete messages from their devices after a sender recalls them. WhatsApp wants to avoid this misconception.
When Does WhatsApp Actually Delete Messages for Everyone?
Despite the confusing terminology, there are some cases where WhatsApp does reliably delete messages for everyone:
Unread messages
If a recipient has not opened a message, WhatsApp can successfully delete it when the sender issues a delete request. Since the message was never read, the recall goes through normally.
Quick deletions
If a sender deletes a message shortly after sending, before the recipient reads it, it will likely be deleted for both parties. WhatsApp tries to quickly recall unread messages before they’re seen.
Connected recipients
If the recipient is actively connected to WhatsApp when the deletion request is sent, the message has a high chance of being deleted for both people. Being online gives WhatsApp the opportunity to instantly relay the recall.
Group messages
In group chats, a message can be deleted for everyone if no recipient has opened it yet. However, once opened by a single person, it can only be deleted for you.
So in certain situations, WhatsApp does manage to delete messages for everyone, even though the option states “delete for me”. But due to uncertainties around recipient devices and connections, universal deletion is not guaranteed.
When is “Delete for Me” Useful?
Despite not always deleting a message for recipients, “delete for me” can still be a useful option:
Removing messages from your view
The sender may simply want to remove a message from their own device, without caring whether recipients keep it. “Delete for me” achieves this easily.
Hiding embarrassing messages
If you accidentally send an embarrassing message, deleting it for yourself can give peace of mind, even if recipients still have it.
Clearing old conversations
Over time, you may want to remove old messages to declutter conversations. “Delete for me” lets you tidy up your messaging view.
Deleting before messages are seen
As mentioned, “delete for me” can reliably recall unread messages before recipients view them. This allows fixing mistakes.
So while not as definitive as “delete for everyone”, requesting to “delete for me” is still useful in many scenarios.
How to Increase the Chance of Deleting WhatsApp Messages for Everyone
If you do want a message gone for good, there are some tips to increase your chances with “delete for me”:
Act quickly
Delete the message as soon as possible before the recipient reads it. The quicker you are, the less likely it was seen.
Double check recipients are offline
If the recipient’s online status shows as “offline”, they may not have read the message yet. Deleting while offline can work.
Use read receipts
WhatsApp’s read receipts allow you to see if a message was opened. Wait for the read receipts before deleting to confirm.
Delete in active group chats
In an active group chat, messages get buried quickly. Delete right after sending in active conversations.
Communicate with recipient
Tell the recipient you deleted the message and request that they also remove it. This relies on them cooperating.
Block the recipient
Blocking the recipient may sometimes cause pending messages to be deleted before seen. But this is not guaranteed.
While not foolproof, employing these methods raises your odds of deleting a message for everyone with the “delete for me” function.
Can You Recover Deleted WhatsApp Messages?
No, there is no way to recover deleted WhatsApp messages through the app itself. Once deleted, they’re gone for good from your device and WhatsApp servers.
Even with a backup of your chat history, deleted messages do not get restored. Backups only include existing conversations, not deleted ones.
However, as mentioned, there are scenarios where a message remains on the recipient’s device after you “delete for me”. In these cases, the recipient may be able to restore the message if they backed up their chat history before your deletion went through.
But otherwise, consider deleted WhatsApp messages permanently erased with no recovery options. The deletion is final beyond any backups.
How to be Certain Recipients Deleted a Message
There is no surefire way to guarantee a WhatsApp message was deleted by the recipient when you request it. But there are some signs that indicate they likely complied:
You see one checkmark
On your end, you’ll see just one gray checkmark if the recipient deleted the message before reading it, suggesting success.
The message disappears from your view
If the message also disappears from your chat screen, that’s another good indication the recall worked universally.
The recipient confirms deletion
Ask the recipient to verbally confirm if they still see the message. If they say no, that’s a positive sign.
You don’t see the message in email notifications
Check your linked email account – if the message no longer shows up in WhatsApp notifications there, that suggests a full deletion.
The recipient tries to re-send the message
If the recipient asks you to re-send the deleted message because they can’t see it anymore, that’s a strong sign.
But ultimately, there is no completely certain way to know a message was deleted for everyone. Due to the uncertainties involved, WhatsApp says “delete for me” as the safer option.
The Difference Between Deleting and Recalling on WhatsApp
WhatsApp has a separate “recall” function in addition to “delete for me”. But what’s the difference between these two options?
Deleting
Deleting a message completely erases it from your WhatsApp on your device. You can no longer see or recover deleted messages.
Recalling
Recalling a message attempts to delete it for recipients after it was already sent. However, this isn’t guaranteed to succeed, for reasons discussed earlier.
So in essence:
– Deleting removes the message from your device only
– Recalling tries to remove the message for recipients after sending
You need to recall a message first before you can delete it. Recalling essentially issues the deletion request, while deleting cleans it up on your end.
Does Deleting Prevent WhatsApp Backups?
No, deleting WhatsApp messages does not prevent them from being included in chat backups. Backups happen automatically and regularly, capturing your full message history at the time.
Even after you delete a message, if a backup occurred before your deletion, the message will persist in that saved history. Only backups made after you delete will exclude the message.
As backups happen routinely, assuming important messages are not included in them is unwise. The only way to guarantee a message does not get backed up is to delete it before the next scheduled backup runs.
But because backup timings are unpredictable, the only truly safe approach is to avoid sending sensitive messages over WhatsApp entirely. Consider a more secure platform if something must remain totally confidential.
Can WhatsApp Improve Message Deletion?
WhatsApp’s message deletion process has some shortcomings that can potentially be improved:
Universal deletions
Ideally, WhatsApp should be able to reliably delete any message for all parties. This avoids confusion over whether recipients still retain messages.
Deletion reports
WhatsApp should send a notification when a message is successfully deleted universally, so senders have certainty.
Recall failures
If a recall fails because a recipient is offline, WhatsApp should queue the request and keep trying until it succeeds. This ensures deletions eventually go through.
Message retraction
Rather than basic deletion, WhatsApp could replace message text with a notice that the content was retracted. This preserves conversation continuity.
Time limits
Only allowing message deletion within a short timeframe, like 5 minutes, could improve success rates by narrowing the window for messages to be seen.
Admin privileges
Group admins should have privileges to delete any message in their groups unilaterally. This gives groups better control.
Enhancements like these could make WhatsApp’s delete and recall functions more effective and less ambiguous. But implementing them may require changing how WhatsApp infrastructure works at a core level.
Conclusion
WhatsApp’s use of “delete for me” rather than “delete for everyone” for message deletions aims to set realistic expectations. There are simply too many uncertainties around recipient devices and connections for WhatsApp to guarantee universal message deletion.
However, in practice there are situations where “delete for me” does end up deleting a message for all participants. And even when it only deletes locally, it can still be useful for removing messages from your own view.
Ultimately, the semantics come down to WhatsApp erring on the side of caution with how it describes its deletion capabilities. While confusing at first, “delete for me” communicates that while WhatsApp can always delete messages from your device, it cannot promise the same for recipients.