WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. It allows easy communication through text messages, calls, photos, videos and more. However, as WhatsApp usage increases, many users want to know how to permanently delete WhatsApp chats from both sides.
Why Delete WhatsApp Chats?
There are several reasons why you may want to delete WhatsApp chats:
- Privacy – You want to remove sensitive conversations and protect your privacy.
- Free up space – Deleting old chats can free up storage space on your phone.
- Start fresh – You want to remove old chats and start new conversations.
- Remove contacts – Deleting all chats with a contact when you no longer want to communicate with them.
However, by default, WhatsApp only deletes chats from your side. The messages still exist on the recipient’s phone. Here are some tips to permanently erase WhatsApp messages from both sides.
Delete WhatsApp Chats From Your Phone
If you just want to remove WhatsApp chats from your phone, here are the steps:
- Open the WhatsApp app and go into the chat you want to delete.
- Tap and hold on the chat.
- Tap “Delete chat” on the pop-up menu.
- Confirm that you want to delete the chat.
This will erase the chat from your phone only. The chat will still be visible on the recipient’s phone.
Ask the Recipient to Delete the Chat
To completely remove a WhatsApp chat from both sides, you need to ask the recipient to also delete the chat from their phone by following the same steps above. This ensures the messages are gone from both devices.
However, this method relies on the recipient agreeing to delete the chat. If they refuse or ignore your request, the messages will remain on their phone.
Block the Recipient
If you block a contact on WhatsApp, it will automatically delete all chats with that contact from both sides. Here’s how to block a contact:
- Open the chat with the contact you want to block.
- Tap on the contact’s name at the top of the chat screen.
- Scroll down and tap “Block contact”.
- Confirm the block when prompted.
Blocking deletes all messages exchanged with that contact from both phones. However, it also prevents any further communication with that person unless you unblock them later.
Use Third Party Apps
Some third party apps claim to let you mass delete WhatsApp chats from both sides. Examples include Wiper and Delete for Everyone. They work by deleting messages from the sender’s phone first. Then they disguise themselves as the sender and sends a mass recall request to recipients to delete the messages.
However, this does not guarantee the chats will be deleted from the recipient’s phone. The process relies on WhatsApp’s servers successfully delivering the recall request. The recipients also need to have the security setting turned on to allow message deletions. So the reliability is questionable.
Back Up and Re-install WhatsApp
Here are the steps to wipe your WhatsApp data by reinstalling the app:
- Back up your WhatsApp chats to Google Drive or locally.
- Uninstall WhatsApp from your phone.
- Reinstall WhatsApp from the app store and verify your number.
- When prompted, do not restore chats from the backup.
This will erase all WhatsApp data from your phone as you are installing a clean version of the app. However, your chats still exist in the backups and on the recipient’s phones. So it’s not a permanent solution.
Delete WhatsApp Account
Deleting your WhatsApp account erases all your chats across devices connected to that account. Here are the steps:
- Open WhatsApp Settings.
- Go to Account > Delete My Account.
- Enter your phone number and select “Delete My Account”.
- Confirm again when prompted.
This will remove your account info from WhatsApp servers and delete all your chats. However, message traces may still remain on WhatsApp databases for some time due to backups. And the chats still exist on the recipient’s phones.
Ask Recipients to Delete Your Number
If you want to delete all traces of WhatsApp chats from both sides, here are the steps:
- Let all your WhatsApp contacts know you are deleting your account.
- Request them to delete the chat history with you as well as your number from their phones.
- Give them reasonable time to comply with the request.
- Delete your WhatsApp account only after they have deleted the chats and your number.
This ensures you have taken steps to remove as much of your WhatsApp data as possible before deleting your account. However, not all recipients may comply with deleting chats from their end.
Factory Reset Your Phone
Doing a factory reset erases all data on your phone, including WhatsApp chats. It gives you a clean slate if you want to permanently remove all traces of WhatsApp data from your device. However, it also deletes all your other apps and settings.
The chats still exist on the recipient’s phones. So before resetting your device, inform contacts to delete chats with you and your number from their devices as well.
Delete WhatsApp from Linked Devices
WhatsApp now allows linking your account to multiple devices such as laptops and tablets. To fully remove WhatsApp data, you also need to unlink and delete WhatsApp from linked devices by following these steps:
- Open WhatsApp on your smartphone.
- Go to Linked Devices in Settings.
- Tap on the device you want to unlink.
- Select “Delete Device”.
- Confirm again when prompted.
Repeat this for all linked devices. This ensures WhatsApp is deleted across all your connected devices. However, your chats still exist on recipients’ phones and unlinked devices.
Key Considerations
Here are some key points to keep in mind when deleting WhatsApp chats:
- Back up important chats and media before deleting WhatsApp data.
- Inform recipients before deleting a chat or your account to avoid miscommunication.
- Deleting your account erases WhatsApp data across linked devices.
- Chats are still retained on recipients’ phones even if you delete them from your side.
- Third party apps may not reliably delete WhatsApp chats from both sides.
- Factory reset your phone only after recipients delete your chats and number.
Conclusion
While WhatsApp itself does not allow permanently deleting chats from both sides, there are some workarounds like blocking contacts or deleting your account. For best results, inform recipients to delete chats and your number from their phones as well before taking any action on your side.
But ultimately, there is no foolproof method to guarantee complete removal of WhatsApp chats from both sender and recipient devices. Some chat traces may still remain in backups and WhatsApp databases. The only truly permanent solution is to not use WhatsApp at all.