How to Delete Old WhatsApp Messages for Everyone

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Learn how long you have to clear WhatsApp messages

Written by Hunter Rising

Last Updated: August 6, 2025 Fact Checked

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How long are you able to delete messages?

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Deleting Messages

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Are you trying to get rid of some old messages in your WhatsApp chats? Even though WhatsApp only lets you delete messages for everyone within 2 days of sending them, you still have the option to clear the conversations from your device. Keep reading, and we’ll walk through deleting messages on WhatsApp and answer your common questions about how chats work.

How to Delete Your WhatsApp Messages

Open the WhatsApp chat, and tap and hold your finger on the message you want to delete. If you sent the message within 2 days, choose Delete for everyone to get rid of the message for all the people in the chat. After 2 days, you can only select Delete for me to remove the message from your device.

Section 1 of 3:

How long do you have to delete old messages on WhatsApp?

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You can always delete messages for yourself, but you have 2 days to delete for everyone. If you sent a chat and don’t want anyone to see it, you have 2 days to go back and delete your message. After 2 days have passed, you can only delete the message from your side, but everyone else in the chat will still see your message on their device.^{[1]
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- You can only delete messages that you sent. If you’re the admin of a group chat, you can delete messages sent by anyone.

Section 2 of 3:

How to Delete WhatsApp Messages for Everyone

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Tap and hold on the message you want to delete to remove it. When you open WhatsApp, navigate to the chat with the message you’re getting rid of. Scroll through the conversation until you find the message and then long-tap on it until a pop-up menu appears either above the message or at the top of the screen. Click on the trash can icon at the top of the screen.^{[2]
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- If it’s within 2 days of when you sent the message, select Delete for everyone from the menu to remove the chat from the entire conversation.
- If you’re past 2 days, you may still tap on Delete for me to remove the message so you’re not able to see it. The other people in the chat will still be able to read your message.
- You can select multiple messages to get rid of full sections of conversations if you’re on iOS or Android. If you’re using WhatsApp on the web, you can only delete individual messages.
- After you delete your message, it will be replaced with “This message was deleted” in the chat. If you’re an admin deleting someone else’s message, then it’s replaced by “This message was deleted by admin,” followed by your name.
- Deleting messages only works if everyone in the chat is using the same version of WhatsApp. If the deletion doesn’t work, try updating your app or asking other people to update theirs.

Section 3 of 3:

WhatsApp Messages FAQ

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Why doesn’t WhatsApp let you delete old messages? It’s not clear why WhatsApp limits deleting messages older than 2 days, but many people think it’s due to software limitations. For a while, you could only delete messages for 1 hour after you sent them, but WhatsApp increased the amount of time to 2 days.
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Are there any workarounds for deleting old WhatsApp messages? According to some WhatsApp users, you could delete old messages for everyone if you turned on Airplane Mode and manually set the date and time on your device within 2 days of when you sent the message. However, when others claim they’ve tried this, they get an error as soon as they open the app that prevents them from editing or deleting their messages.
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Does clearing a chat on WhatsApp delete messages for everyone? No, clearing and deleting chats only removes the messages from your device, but everyone else in the chat will still be able to see the messages.^{[3]
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- Once you delete a chat, you won’t be able to recover it on your device unless you saved a backup beforehand.
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How do disappearing messages work on WhatsApp? Turning on disappearing messages changes your chats so messages automatically delete after a set amount of time. You can choose to delete messages after 1 day, 1 week, or 90 days, but it only affects new messages you send after turning on the setting. Anyone in the chat can choose to “keep” a message to save it, but the person who sent it can choose to “unkeep” it within 30 days.^{[4]
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- Open the chat you want to use disappearing messages for.
- Tap the name at the top of the screen.
- Select Disappearing messages from the menu and select Continue.
- Choose how long the messages stay in chat.
- Press the left arrow at the top of the screen to save your settings.
- You can also turn on disappearing messages for all your chats by going to Settings > Privacy > Default message timer and selecting the time frame.
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Can you recover deleted WhatsApp messages? If you delete a message for yourself, you have about 5 seconds to click Undo to recover the message again.^{[5]
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Research source} If you cleared or deleted your chat history, you may be able to recover old messages if you saved a backup on your account. To recover the chats:^{[6]
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- Uninstall WhatsApp from your device and reinstall it from the App Store.
- Enter any information, like your number, Apple ID, or password, when you’re prompted.
- Select Restore to recover your most recent WhatsApp backup.
  - You may need to enter a two-step verification code sent to your phone or email to completely recover your messages.

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Keep in mind that even after you delete a message, other people in the chat may have taken screenshots of your messages.

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If you made a typo or mistake, you can edit your message for up to 15 minutes after sending it.

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