It is hard to imagine our daily life without it What’s up, the queen of messaging apps. But over time and exchanges, the history of our conversations can quickly take on significant proportions. Excess data that can harm our storage space and our confidentiality. In these situations, knowing how to delete a WhatsApp chat becomes essential to restore order. Fortunately, this platform designed for ease of use allows you to delete old conversations in just a few clicks. There are dedicated procedures on various devices to effectively deal with your bulky or sensitive exchanges. This handy guide will reveal all the steps you need to follow to clean up your discussion threads. We’ll also reveal some tips for recovering accidentally deleted messages.
Why delete a WhatsApp chat?
As mentioned above, there are several reasons why a user might want to delete a WhatsApp conversation. This can be either for:
- Save storage space on your device for other apps and files
- Preserve your privacy by eliminating confidential exchanges that contain personal information
- Clean up outdated and/or irrelevant discussions for greater clarity
So, a user can be motivated either by concern for their privacy, by managing their storage space on their device, by the need to have a clean and well-organized WhatsApp application, or by a combination of these three motives.
Regardless of the motivation, WhatsApp offers a variety of options to easily delete unwanted conversations.
Whether on Android, iOS, Windows, Mac or via PC, deleting messages or group chat sections requires only one and the same process. And here’s how to do it:
- To delete messages sent in an individual chat:
- Open WhatsApp and go to the chat that contains the message you want to delete.
- Touch and hold your finger on the message.
- Tap delete or the trash can icon. Then choose between delete for allOr Delete for me.
- If you select several messages at once, including your own, then only the command delete for me will appear next to the order Cancel in the dialog box when you click the trash can icon.
- To delete a message sent in a group:
- You go to the WhatsApp application, then to the group chat that contains the message to delete
- Press and hold your finger for a few seconds on the message (this is equivalent to the right mouse button on your computer)
- In the menu bar of the chat tab, tap the trash can icon, then tap Delete for me in the dialog box that will appear.
You can also get rid of all your conversations individual or group.
How to delete a chat on Android?
- To delete an individual or group conversation:
- Go to the Discussions tab on your WhatsApp, then open the one whose content you want to delete, either individual or group.
- Press the three dots in the upper right corner of the screen, then click Moreafter that clear content
- If your chat contains media, you can check or uncheck the box next to it Also delete media received in device gallery chats in the dialog box, depending on whether you want to keep them or not.
- Click on delete the discussion
- To delete all chats at once:
- After going to your discussionsclick on the three dots in the upper right corner of the screen, then click settings, discussionsand go todiscussion history.
- Click on delete all conversations
- You should check or uncheck the commands Also delete media received in conversations from the device gallery AND Delete messages marked as important depending on whether you want to keep them or not.
- Then, finally, complete the operation by clicking on delete chats.
- To delete an individual or group conversation:
- In the card Discussionsswipe right on the group or individual chat you want to delete.
- press More Then Delete chat.
- press Delete discussion.
- To delete all chats at once:
- Access the WhatsApp settings, then the Discussions tab to finally click Delete all conversations.
- Please enter your phone number before pressing Delete all conversations.
Note that the media will be deleted from your phone if you choose Also delete media received in device gallery chats. This will not remove you from the group or remove the discussion from the Discussions tab.
Can I recover or read messages deleted by me or others?
In the normal course of the process, it is possible to recover deleted messages only if you have saved them or if you have de-selected the deletion commands related to received media or messages that you consider important. In fact, a deleted message or discussion remains deleted. However, according to the technical site Press Lemonsome third-party solutions can help you like the app WAMR – Recovery of deleted messages and statuses. The application allows you to read messages through the notifications you receive and for which you would probably back up. However, due to privacy risks, this type of application should be used with caution.
Here are other examples.
This application allows you to recover and read deleted WhatsApp messages on Android and iOS devices.
This application allows you to see the messages and files deleted by the sender on WhatsApp.
This app allows you to read and restore deleted WhatsApp messages as well as customize notification settings.
This application allows you to read deleted WhatsApp messages without installing WhatsApp and also allows you to save deleted messages in txt or csv format.