Step-by-Step: How to Permanently Delete WhatsApp Messages

Millions of people rely on WhatsApp daily to communicate and share sensitive information. But what if you want to erase your messages for good or personal reason? Understanding how to permanently delete WhatsApp messages—whether it's from a single chat, a group conversation, or your whole account—is critical for privacy.

In this comprehensive guide, we'll walk you through every step required to permanently delete WhatsApp messages on Android, iPhone, and WhatsApp Web. Read it on.

Part 1. Why Permanently Delete WhatsApp Messages?

There are several reasons you might want to permanently delete conversations on WhatsApp:

• Protect your privacy if your phone is lost, stolen, or shared.
• Remove sensitive information after a breakup, business conversation, or confidential discussion.
• Declutter your device and free up storage by removing old, unnecessary chats.
• Ensure messages cannot be retrieved in the future by you or others.

With WhatsApp's ever-growing role in how we communicate, understanding how to manage and permanently erase messages is more important than ever.

Part 2. How Deleting Messages in WhatsApp Works

Before we dive in, it's important to know how WhatsApp's deletion system actually functions:

Delete for Me: Removes the message from your device, but not from the recipient's device.
Delete for Everyone: Deletes the message from both sender and receiver's devices (available up to around 2 days after sending).
Delete Chat: Removes the whole conversation on your device.
Clear Chat: Removes messages inside a chat but keeps the chat itself.

Part 3. How to Permanently Delete Individual WhatsApp Messages

Method 1: Delete WhatsApp Messages On Android

Step 1. Open WhatsApp on your Android phone.
Step 2. Go to the Chat: Tap the chat containing the message you want to delete.
Step 3. Tap and Hold the Message: Press and hold the specific message. You can select multiple messages if needed.
Step 4. Delete: Tap the trash bin icon at the top for the further step.
Step 5. Choose Delete for Me or Delete for Everyone to delete WhatsApp messages.

Method 2: Delete WhatsApp Messages On iPhone (iOS)

Step 1. Open WhatsApp and go to the chat.
Step 2. Tap and Hold the Message: Select Delete. For multiple messages, tap More then select additional messages.
Step 3. Tap the Trash Icon: Choose Delete for Me or Delete for Everyone.

Method 3. Delete WhatsApp Messages On WhatsApp Web/Desktop

Step 1. Open WhatsApp Web or desktop app.
Step 2. Head to the Chat: Hover over the message you want to delete and click the down-arrow.
Step 3. Select Delete message: Then choose the relevant option to delete WhatsApp messages from your device.

Part 4. How to Delete Entire Chats on WhatsApp

Deleting an entire chat obliterates all contained messages on your device.

On Android
Step 1. Open WhatsApp.
Step 2. Tap and Hold the Chat: In the chat list, press and hold the chat thread you wish to delete.
Step 3. Tap the Trash Bin Icon: Confirm deletion. Optionally, delete media from your phone.

On iPhone
Step 1. Swipe Left on Chat: In the conversation list, swipe left on a chat thread.
Step 2. Tap More > Delete Chat. Confirm your choice to permanently delete the chat from your WhatsApp.

Part 5. Does Deleting a Message Remove It from WhatsApp Servers?

When you apply the delete for everyone option, WhatsApp is designed to delete the message from its servers and recipient devices. However:

• The message could still be part of a backup.
• If a recipient's app is outdated or they're offline for weeks, the message might not be deleted.
• Some third-party tools or apps on rooted devices might recover deleted messages.

Part 6. How to Ensure WhatsApp Messages Are Gone Forever

To be thorough about deleting messages, follow these steps:

1. Clear Chat Backups

Even after deleting messages, they may remain in WhatsApp's Google Drive (Android) or iCloud (iPhone) backups.

On Android:
Step 1. Open WhatsApp > More options (three dots) > Settings > Chats > Chat backup.
Step 2. Delete local backups from your phone using a file manager.
Step 3. Visit your Google Drive, click the settings gear > Manage Apps.
Step 4. Find WhatsApp backups and delete them.

On iPhone:
Step 1. Open WhatsApp > Settings > Chats > Chat Backup.
Step 2. In iCloud: Go to iPhone Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Manage Storage > Backups. Locate your device and remove WhatsApp backup.

2. Delete WhatsApp Account

If you want everything erased, including your messages from WhatsApp's servers:

Step 1. Go to WhatsApp > Settings > Account > Delete My Account.
Step 2. Enter your phone number and confirm.
Step 3. This removes all your messages, media, and backups associated with your account.

3. Erase from Devices

After deleting messages or chats, uninstall WhatsApp if you want zero trace. Factory-resetting your device is an extra step, but is only recommended if you're disposing of the phone.

Bonus Tip. How to Back Up Data Before Permanently Deleting WhatsApp Messages

Before deleting WhatsApp messages on WhatsApp permanently, make a backup allows you to get the messages back when you need. Therefore, backing up your WhatsApp messages is necessary if you don't want to lose your WhatsApp data.

TunesKit WhatsApp Transfer, a comprehensive WhatsApp data managing tool, allows users to migrate, back up, restore, and export WhatsApp data in simple steps. When you need to transfer your WhatsApp data between iOS devices like updating to a new iPhone, or just need to back up your WhatsApp data for security reasons, TunesKit WhatsApp Transfer can meet your needs very well.

Part 7. FAQs About Deleting WhatsApp Messages

Q1. Can someone recover deleted WhatsApp messages?

If the message was backed up before deletion, it could be restored by reinstalling WhatsApp and restoring from backup.

Q2. Does Delete for Everyone remove media from phones?

If a recipient already downloaded the media to their gallery, it may remain even after deletion.

Q3. Are deleted WhatsApp messages truly unrecoverable?

For typical users, yes. But forensic tools on rooted/jailbroken devices might retrieve data.

Q4. Why can I not delete for everyone?

You're outside the time window (about 2 days), or your app/recipient's app is outdated.

Q5. Will deleted messages show on WhatsApp Web?

No, once deleted for everyone, the message disappears from all WhatsApp platforms for all users.

Part 8. Conclusion

Knowing how to permanently delete WhatsApp messages is crucial for anyone prioritizing privacy and decluttering their WhatsApp usage. Whether you're removing a single risky text, clearing out an old conversation, or wiping your whole account, WhatsApp provides robust options—and you will know how to use them after reading this post.

If you just want to delete WhatsApp messages from your mobile device, but keep it on your computer, download and try using TunesKit WhatsApp Transfer is the best option to back up your WhatsApp messages.