There’s no need to panic if you sent a WhatsApp message to the wrong person. The messenger app allows you to delete messages. Read our step-by-step instructions on how to delete messages – either for yourself or for everyone.
WhatsApp: How to delete messages for yourself
In WhatsApp, you have the possibility to delete your copy of a message at any time (without deleting them for other people, too). You can do this with messages written by you, but also with those that were sent to you.
- Open WhatsApp and the chat containing the message you want to delete.
- Tap and hold the message.
- On Android, you can also select multiple messages and delete them all at once.
- On iPhone, you’ll see a menu. Tap the last option: “Delete”. In the next step, you’ll have the possibility to select more messages (check by tapping the circle next to them).
- Tap “Delete” and then “Delete for me”.
How to delete messages for everyone
If you want to delete a message for everyone, you must do it during the first hour after sending the message.The option has a time limit and you can only delete messages written by you. The steps that you need to follow are similar to the ones mentioned above:
- Open WhatsApp and the chat where you sent the message that you now wish to delete.
- Tap and hold the message.
- If you use an iPhone, tap “Delete” in the menu. And select the message(s) that you wish to delete.
- On your Android phone, select the message(s) that you want to delete.
- Tap “Delete” and then “Delete for Everyone”.
- Instead of the message, you and the recipient(s) will now see a text saying that the message was deleted.
- Deleting the messages for everyone only functions if both you and the recipient(s) use the newest WhatsApp version.
- On iOS, users can activate the option to save media files that they receive on WhatsApp. If you delete a message containing a media file, but the recipient(s) saved it, the file won’t be deleted from their phones.
- As mentioned above, bear in mind that you can only delete the message during the first hour after sending it.
