WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. It allows users to send messages, photos, videos, documents and make voice and video calls. All messages and media sent via WhatsApp are stored in the app’s history. This enables users to look back on old conversations and media.
Many WhatsApp users wonder if it’s possible to delete messages and entire conversations from their chat history. The short answer is yes, WhatsApp does allow users to delete messages and conversations from the app. However, the process differs depending on whether you want to delete messages for yourself or for all participants.
Deleting WhatsApp messages and conversations from your own chat history
If you want to remove messages and conversations from your own WhatsApp chat history only, it’s a relatively straightforward process:
- Open the WhatsApp chat containing the message(s) or conversation you want to delete.
- Long press on the message or conversation thread you want to delete.
- This will open up a menu – tap on the trash can icon to delete the message or conversation.
- Confirm that you want to delete the message or conversation when prompted.
This will immediately and permanently delete the message(s) or entire conversation from your chat history. The process works the same way for group chats as well as individual chats. However, this only deletes the messages from your chat history – other participants in the chat will still be able to see the messages in their histories.
Permanently deleting WhatsApp messages for all participants
WhatsApp gives users up to 1 hour, 8 minutes and 16 seconds to delete a message for all chat participants after it’s sent. This window is extended to up to 2 days 12 hours after a message is sent in group chats with over 5 participants. To delete a WhatsApp message for everyone:
- Open the chat containing the message you want to delete.
- Long press on the message to open the menu.
- Tap on ‘Delete for everyone’.
- Confirm deletion in the pop-up prompt.
The message will be removed from the chat history for all participants if done within the time limit. A note will appear for all chat members saying “This message was deleted” to indicate a message was removed.
However, it’s important to note that if a message has been read, quoted or forwarded, it can’t be deleted for everyone. You can only delete unread WhatsApp messages for all chat participants.
Can entire WhatsApp conversations be deleted for everyone?
WhatsApp doesn’t allow users to delete entire conversations for all chat participants. The ‘Delete for everyone’ option only works for latest, unread messages sent within the time limit.
If you need to delete an entire WhatsApp conversation for all participants, you have two options:
- Ask all the individuals in the group chat to delete the conversation from their own WhatsApp histories.
- Backup your chat history, delete the chat for yourself and then restore your backup. This will wipe the conversation from your WhatsApp only.
Since WhatsApp does not allow users to selectively restore chats from a backup, all your previous chats will also be restored using method 2.
How are deleted WhatsApp messages and chats stored?
When you delete a WhatsApp message or conversation, it is removed from your device’s database and media storage. However, that doesn’t mean all traces of it are wiped from existence.
Deleted WhatsApp data remains in a few locations:
- Device internal storage: Deleted messages may still be recoverable from your phone’s internal storage, unless explicitly overwritten.
- iCloud/Google Drive backups: Messages and conversations deleted after the last backup are retained in your remote backups.
- Other participants’ histories: Messages you delete for yourself remain available for other chat participants.
In essence, while deleting WhatsApp messages and chats removes them from your immediate chat history, traces of them still remain in various locations. Permanently wiping all presence of WhatsApp data is difficult.
Can deleted WhatsApp messages be recovered?
Since deleted WhatsApp data still leaves traces in your phone’s storage and remote backups, recovery is often possible using data recovery software or tools.
Some ways deleted WhatsApp messages and chats can be recovered include:
- Using data recovery software to scan your device’s internal storage for residual traces of deleted WhatsApp files.
- Accessing deleted messages and conversations from an iCloud or Google Drive backup.
- Exporting chat histories using WhatsApp’s Export Chat feature before a deletion.
- Using WhatsApp’s built-in backup to restore previously deleted chats and messages.
The success of WhatsApp message recovery depends on the method used and how long ago the messages were deleted. But in most cases, you have a good chance of being able to recover deleted WhatsApp data through one of the above techniques.
Does WhatsApp notify users when deleting messages?
WhatsApp has notification systems in place to alert users when certain delete actions occur in chats:
- You delete a message for yourself: No notification is shown to other chat participants. The message is simply removed from your chat screen.
- You delete a message for everyone: A note saying “This message was deleted” appears where the message used to be for all chat members.
- Someone else deletes a message for everyone: You will see the “This message was deleted” note in the chat at the spot where the now deleted message existed.
- A chat is cleared or deleted: WhatsApp doesn’t specifically notify users that an entire chat was deleted or cleared on someone else’s device.
So while WhatsApp does not directly alert users about most deletion actions, the “This message was deleted” note acts as an indicator that a message removal occurred in the chat.
Turning off WhatsApp delete notifications
Some WhatsApp users may find the message deletion notifications annoying. Fortunately, these notifications can be disabled in WhatsApp’s settings:
- Open WhatsApp Settings.
- Go to the Notifications section.
- Find the “Show deleted messages notifications” option and disable it.
This will prevent deleted message notifications from showing up when someone removes a message for everyone in any of your chats.
Conclusion
While WhatsApp allows users to delete messages and conversations from their chat history, it does not permanently wipe the data due to residual traces in your phone’s storage and backups. Recovering deleted WhatsApp data is often possible using data recovery software or tools.
Users are also notified when messages are deleted by others with an in-chat message deletion note. This can be disabled by turning off the “Show deleted messages notifications” setting.
So in summary:
- WhatsApp messages and conversations can be deleted for yourself or everyone within time limits.
- Deleted WhatsApp data still leaves traces that allow recovery.
- Notifications alert users when messages are deleted by others.
- But these notifications can be disabled in WhatsApp’s settings.