Deleting a chat on WhatsApp is a common action that many users take in order to clear old conversations or free up space on their phones. However, deleting a chat can have varying effects depending on the type of chat it is and who else is in the chat. Here is a comprehensive look at what exactly happens when you delete different types of WhatsApp chats.
Deleting an individual chat
If you delete a one-on-one chat with another person, the chat will be deleted from your phone only. The other person will still have the entire chat history on their phone. So deleting an individual chat only deletes it from your view, but the other person still has access to the entire chat history. Some key points:
- The chat is deleted entirely from your phone and can no longer be accessed.
- All messages, images, videos, and files you exchanged will be deleted.
- Call history and voice messages will also be deleted.
- The other person’s phone still retains the entire chat history.
- The chat will still show up in their chat list. They will see your messages on their end.
- If you start a new chat with that person, it will appear as a new chat without any previous messages.
So in summary, deleting an individual chat only deletes it from your view. The other person retains the entire chat history and record of your conversation on their phone. It is not deleted from their perspective.
Deleting a group chat
Deleting a group chat behaves a bit differently than an individual chat. When you delete a group chat:
- The chat is deleted entirely from your phone and can no longer be accessed.
- All messages, media, files, call history, etc. exchanged in the group will be deleted from your phone.
- For other group participants, the group chat will still show up in their chat lists.
- They will no longer be able to see new messages in the group chat.
- But, they will still have access to the chat history prior to when you deleted the chat.
- So they will retain the entire chat history on their phone until the point when you deleted the chat.
- If you re-add the group chat, the previous chat history will not be visible. It will appear as a new chat.
In summary, deleting a group chat deletes the entire chat history from your view. Other participants retain the chat history prior to when you deleted the chat, but cannot see any new messages.
Permanently deleting a chat
WhatsApp gives you the option to permanently delete a chat so that it is deleted from your phone as well as the phones of all other participants in the chat. This means there is no record of the chat on anyone’s device. To permanently delete a chat:
- Open the WhatsApp chat you want to delete
- Tap on the contact or group name at the top
- Scroll down and tap Delete Chat
- Tap the red Delete for everyone button
- Confirm the delete when prompted
This will permanently delete the chat for you and all other participants. Some key points about permanent chat deletion:
- Completely deletes the entire chat history from all phones.
- There is no record of the chat on anyone’s phone afterwards.
- You can only permanently delete chats up to 7 days old.
- Can permanently delete individual chats as well as group chats.
- If you permanently delete a group chat, other participants can no longer see the group in their chat lists.
Permanently deleting a chat erases all traces of the conversation from WhatsApp. However, participants may have external backups that would still contain the chat history.
What happens when you delete a contact
Deleting a contact from your WhatsApp contacts list deletes all chats you’ve had with that person. Some key points on deleting contacts:
- All one-on-one chats with that contact are deleted and can no longer be accessed.
- If you were part of any groups with that contact, your access to those groups is not affected.
- You can still participate in groups that contain a deleted contact.
- For the contact you deleted, the one-on-one chat history with you will still be present on their end.
- So deleting the contact only deletes the chats from your view.
In summary, deleting a contact only deletes your view of your chats with that person. It does not delete any content from their perspective. They retain the full chat history.
Backing up chats before deleting
Since deleting chats also deletes them from your phone, you may want to backup your WhatsApp data before deleting any chats. This allows you to retain a copy of the chats even after deleting them from your phone. Some ways to backup chats:
- Google Drive backup – WhatsApp lets you backup chats to Google Drive.
- Local backup – You can create a local backup on your phone’s storage.
- iCloud backup – Automated backups for iPhone users via iCloud.
- External app – Use a third party app to backup WhatsApp messages and media.
- Export chat – Manually export a specific chat’s media and messages.
Backing up ensures you have a copy of important chats even if you decide to delete them from your phone. You can use the backup to restore chats if needed.
Can I recover deleted WhatsApp chats?
If you delete a chat by accident, there are some ways you may be able to recover it depending on the type of backup:
- Google Drive backup – You can restore chats from a Google Drive backup as long as the backup was done before deleting the chat.
- iCloud backup – Recover deleted chats by restoring your iCloud backup.
- Local backup – Restore chats from a local WhatsApp backup file stored on your phone.
- Third party app backup – Some apps allow you to recover chats even after deletion provided they were backed up.
However, if there is no backup for the deleted chat or it was permanently deleted for everyone, thenrecovery becomes close to impossible. So backups are important if you think you might need to access a deleted chat in the future.
Does the other person get notified if I delete a chat?
When you delete a chat, WhatsApp does not directly notify the other chat participants. However, for group chats, there are some scenarios where it’s evident to participants that messages have been deleted:
- If you permanently delete messages in a group chat up to 7 days old, the “This message was deleted” placeholder text will show up for other participants instead of the deleted messages.
- If you delete an entire group chat, other participants will no longer see the group chat in their lists. So they can deduce the group was deleted.
- Your name will still show up in the group participants list. But if you try to message, others will get notified that you left the group.
For one-on-one chats, there is no notification if either person deletes their local copy of the chat. The only way for the other person to know is if they check their own chat history and notice messages missing.
Does WhatsApp notify other users if I delete or reinstall the app?
WhatsApp does not directly notify your contacts if you uninstall the app from your device or delete your account. However, there are some scenarios where your contacts can deduce you may have deleted or reinstalled WhatsApp:
- If you delete your account, all group chats you are in will be notified that “You left” the group chat.
- When you reinstall WhatsApp and reverify your number, the app automatically messages all your contacts to notify them you’re back on WhatsApp.
- If you had read receipts enabled, your contacts will see you go back to “online” after reinstalling.
- Reinstalling WhatsApp generates new encryption keys, so contacts may get notifications about security number changes.
- Chat history is deleted when you uninstall the app, so chats will appear as new when you reinstall.
So while WhatsApp itself does not directly notify contacts about uninstalling or reinstalling, there are usually signs they can pick up on to detect you have reinstalled the app.
Strategies to avoid leaks from deleted chats
Since deleting chats does not remove them from the recipient’s phone, there is a risk that private or sensitive information you deleted could still leak later on. Some strategies to avoid leaks from deleted WhatsApp chats:
- Avoid sending anything highly confidential or risky over WhatsApp in the first place.
- Make sure to permanently delete very sensitive chats rather than just deleting your local copy.
- Be cautious when deleting chats that the other party may have incentives to leak, like a messy breakup.
- Enable disappearing messages which automatically delete new messages after 7 days.
- Use an app like Eraser to permanently wipe WhatsApp data from the recipient’s phone.
- Back up important chats you want to delete so you have a record in case it leaks.
Deleted WhatsApp chats can come back to bite you if leaked by another party. So consider carefully before sending risky chats and use available options to reduce chances of leaks.
Conclusion
Deleting WhatsApp chats can have varying impacts depending on whether it is an individual or group chat. For individual chats, only your local copy of the messages is deleted while the recipient retains the chat history. For group chats, you delete your local history while other participants retain chat history from before your deletion. Permanently deleting a chat erases it entirely for everyone. However, backups could still contain chat history. Overall, deleted WhatsApp chats are rarely gone forever unless permanently removed before backups. Be thoughtful about your motivations before deleting chats and beware that the other party may still have a record of the conversation.