WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, with over 2 billion users. It allows us to easily communicate with friends, family, co-workers, and more through text, voice notes, video calls, and more. With so much conversation happening on WhatsApp, you may sometimes want to delete a chat thread with someone to clear up space or for privacy reasons. But what exactly happens when you delete a chat on WhatsApp? Here’s a detailed look at what happens when you delete a chat.
Does Deleting a Chat Delete it for Both Parties?
When you delete a chat thread on WhatsApp, it only deletes the conversation from your device and not the other person’s device. So if you delete a chat with someone, they will still have the entire chat history on their WhatsApp. Deleting a chat only removes it locally from your version of WhatsApp.
The other person will be able to see the entire chat history up to the point when you deleted it. They will be able to see all messages, photos, videos and files exchanged in that chat. There will be no indication to them that you have deleted the chat on your side.
So in summary, deleting a WhatsApp chat only deletes it from your device and not the other person’s device. It is not deleted for both parties.
Does the Other Person Get Notified if You Delete the Chat?
When you delete a chat, WhatsApp does not notify the other person in that chat. So if you delete a chat with someone, WhatsApp will not send them a message informing them about it. There will be no indication to them that you have deleted the chat thread.
The chat will simply disappear from your side, but will remain fully intact on their device. They will only realize that you have deleted the chat if they try to scroll up and look for older messages. At that point, they will see that the chat history has been erased on your side.
So no, WhatsApp does not notify or alert the other person in any way when you delete a chat. The chat will silently disappear from your side without informing the other user.
Can the Other Person Still See Your Profile Photo & Info if You Delete the Chat?
Yes, even if you delete your chat with someone, they will still be able to see your WhatsApp profile photo, status, and any other info available in your profile. Deleting the chat does not affect your profile visibility to that person.
Your last seen, about info, profile photo, status etc. will remain visible to that person as before. The only difference is they won’t be able to scroll up and see the older chat messages from your side.
So deleting a chat thread only removes the messages, and not your account info and visibility. Your WhatsApp profile remains fully visible to that person.
Can You Recover a Deleted Chat?
Unfortunately, when you manually delete a chat on WhatsApp, there is no built-in way to recover or restore that deleted conversation. The chat is permanently erased from your device once you delete it.
However, there are a few ways you may be able to recover a deleted WhatsApp chat:
- If you had chat backup enabled, you can uninstall WhatsApp and reinstall it to restore chats from the backup.
- On Android, you can use apps like Dr.Fone to attempt to restore deleted WhatsApp chats.
- On iOS, you can restore an iCloud backup to get back deleted chats.
But there is no guarantee you will be able to recover deleted chats through these methods. The only foolproof way is to regularly back up your WhatsApp chats to ensure you have a copy if you accidentally delete a chat.
Does Deleting a Chat Delete Media & Files Exchanged in the Chat?
When you delete a chat, only the messages are deleted. Any media & files exchanged within that chat will not be deleted from your phone when you delete the chat thread.
So for example, if you exchanged photos, videos or documents within that chat, these files will still remain saved on your device even after you delete the chat. Only the messages will be deleted.
However, any media that you have not saved will be deleted when you delete the chat. For example, photos & videos that are only present within the chat and have not been saved to your camera roll will be deleted along with the messages.
In summary:
- Messages are always deleted when you delete a chat.
- Media files like photos, videos, audio, documents etc. that have been saved will remain on your device.
- Unsaved media like photos will be deleted along with the messages.
Is There Any Way to Permanently Delete a Chat for Both Parties?
Unfortunately, there is no official way to permanently delete a WhatsApp chat for both you and the other person. The only option is to delete the chat on your device, which removes it only locally.
Some unofficial workarounds are:
- Ask the other person politely to also delete the chat from their device.
- Block the person – this will delete the chat for both parties, but is more extreme.
- Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp on both devices to wipe all chats.
But there is no straightforward official solution within WhatsApp to permanently delete a chat from both sides. You can only delete it from your device while it stays on the other person’s phone.
Conclusion
- Deleting a WhatsApp chat removes it only from your device, not the other person’s.
- The other person does not get notified when you delete a chat.
- Your profile info and visibility to that person remains unchanged.
- Deleted chats may be recoverable through backups.
- Media files exchanged in deleted chats remain on your device.
- There is no built-in way to delete a chat for both parties.
So in summary, deleting a chat on WhatsApp only removes it locally from your device and there is no built-in solution to delete it permanently from both sides. Be mindful of this when deleting chats as they can still be present on the other person’s phone.