Deleting messages for everyone allows you to delete specific messages you have sent to either a group or an individual chat. This is particularly useful if you sent a message to the wrong chat or if the message you sent contains a mistake.
Messages you successfully delete for everyone will be replaced with “This message was deleted” in your recipients’ chats (*). Similarly, if you see “This message was deleted” in a chat, it means that the sender deleted their message for everyone.
You can only delete messages for everyone for up to seven minutes after sending. Once seven minutes have passed, there is no way to delete messages for everyone. To delete messages for everyone:
- Open WhatsApp and go to the chat containing the message you wish to delete.
- Tap and hold the message > choose Delete from the menu. Optionally, select more messages to delete multiple messages at once.
- Tap Delete > Delete for Everyone.
Note:
- In order for messages to be successfully deleted for everyone, both you and your recipient must be using the latest version of WhatsApp for Android, iPhone or Windows Phone.
- (*) If you or your recipient are not using the latest version of WhatsApp for Android, iPhone or Windows Phone, this feature will not be supported.
- Recipients may see your message before it’s deleted or if deletion was not successful.
- You will not be notified if deleting for everyone was not successful.
To delete messages for yourself
Deleting messages for yourself allows you to delete your copy of messages you’ve sent or received from your phone. This has no effect on your recipients’ chats. Your recipients will still see the messages in their chat screen. To delete messages for yourself:
- Open WhatsApp and go to the chat containing the message you wish to delete.
- Tap and hold the message > choose Delete from the menu. Optionally, select more messages to delete multiple messages at once.
- Tap Delete > Delete for Me.