How to Delete Facebook Messages or Entire Conversations

Last Updated: February 19, 2026 Fact Checked

• Using the Messenger App
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• Using the Facebook App
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• Using the Facebook Website
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• Enabling Disappearing Messages in Encrypted Chats
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• Deleting Community Chats
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• Q&A
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• Tips

This article was reviewed by Stan Kats and by wikiHow staff writer, Megaera Lorenz, PhD. Stan Kats is a Professional Technologist and the COO and Chief Technologist for The STG IT Consulting Group in West Hollywood, California. Stan provides comprehensive technology solutions to businesses through managed IT services, and for individuals through his consumer service business, Stan's Tech Garage. Stan holds a BA in International Relations from The University of Southern California. He began his career working in the Fortune 500 IT world. Stan founded his companies to offer an enterprise-level of expertise for small businesses and individuals. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 829,889 times.

If you send a risky message on Facebook, you can easily unsend it so it deletes on your end and the recipient's end. However, keep in mind that the deleted text may still be seen if they request a copy of their Facebook data. Here's how to permanently delete Facebook messages on your iPhone, iPad, Android, or computer.

Quick Steps

1. Tap Chats.
2. Tap a chat message.
3. Tap and hold the message or photo.
4. Tap Unsend.
5. Tap Unsend for everyone.

Steps

1. 1 Tap Chats. This is the tab at the bottom.
   • If you aren't already logged into your Facebook account, do so now to use Messenger.
   • You can delete messages you received or unsend messages you sent.[1] X Research source
2. 2 Tap a chat. You'll see your chats from most recent to least recent. Advertisement
3. 3 Tap and hold the message or photo you want to delete. More options will appear.
4. 4 Tap Unsend. This is in red.
   • If you're deleting a message sent by another person, tap Remove.
   • If you don’t see the Unsend or Remove option, you may need to tap More in the popup menu to see it.
   • Depending on your version of the Messenger app, you may see Delete instead of Unsend. However, Messenger is still in the process of rolling out this change as of February 2025.[2] X Research source
5. 5 Tap Unsend for everyone. If you only want to unsend it for yourself, tap Unsend for you.
   • If you blocked the person, you won’t see the Unsend for everyone option. Delete any sensitive messages before blocking the recipient.
   • Depending on your version of Messenger, this option may say Delete for everyone or Delete for you instead.
   • If you're deleting a message sent by another person, tap Remove for you to confirm.
6. 6 Delete an entire conversation (optional). If you'd rather get rid of the entire chat conversation with someone, do the following:
   • Open the Chats tab.
   • Tap and hold the chat.
   • Tap Delete.
   • Tap Delete again.
   • Note that deleting a whole chat will delete it from your Chats list, but anyone else in the conversation will still be able to see it in their own Chats.[3] X Research source
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1. 1 Tap the Messenger icon. This is the speech bubble with a lightning bolt in the top-right corner.
   • You can delete messages you received or unsend messages you sent. Keep in mind that unsent messages can still be seen if the recipient requests a copy of their Facebook data.
   • This process is nearly identical to deleting messages directly from the Messenger app. The only difference is that you are accessing the chat from the Facebook app instead.
2. 2 Tap a chat. You'll see your chats from most recent to least recent.
3. 3 Tap and hold the message or photo you want to delete. More options will appear in a pop-up window.
4. 4 Tap Unsend. You should see this option in the menu that pops up. If you don’t see it, tap More.
   • You might see Delete instead, depending on your version of Facebook and/or Messenger.
   • If you're deleting a message sent by another person, tap Remove.
5. 5 Tap Unsend for everyone. If you only want to unsend it for yourself, tap Unsend for you.
   • If you're deleting a message sent by another person, tap Remove for you to confirm.
   • In some versions of the Facebook app, you might see Delete for everyone/you instead of Unsend for everyone/you.
   • The Unsend for everyone option won’t be available if you blocked the person. Delete any messages you don’t want the recipient to see before blocking them.
6. 6 Delete an entire conversation (optional). If you'd rather get rid of the entire chat conversation with someone, do the following:
   • Tap the Messenger icon.
   • Swipe left on the chat.
   • Tap More.
   • Tap Delete twice.
   • Note that doing this will delete the chat from your inbox, but anyone else in the conversation will still see it in their own Chats list.
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1. 1 Click the Messenger icon. This is the speech bubble with a lightning bolt in the top-right corner.
   • While you can unsend messages, keep in mind the recipient may have already seen them.
2. 2 Click a chat. You'll see your chats from most recent to least recent.
3. 3 Hover over the message or photo you want to delete. More options will appear on the left.
4. 4 Click ⋮. A pop-up menu will open.
5. 5 Click Unsend. This is the first option.
   • If you're deleting a message sent by another person, click Remove.
   • You might see Delete instead of Unsend in some cases. However, Facebook is still rolling out this change as of February 2025.
6. 6 Select Unsend for everyone. If you only want to unsend it for yourself, select Unsend for you instead.
   • If you're deleting a message sent by another person, select Remove for you to confirm.
   • You might see Delete for everyone/you instead.
   • You won’t see the Unsend for everyone option if you blocked the other person in the conversation. Delete sensitive messages first before blocking the recipient.
7. 7 Click Remove. This will unsend the message.
8. 8 Delete an entire conversation (optional). To get rid of an entire chat conversation with another user, do the following:
   • Click the Messenger icon.
   • Hover over a chat.
   • Click •••.
   • Click Delete chat twice.
     • You might need to scroll down in the menu to see the Delete chat option.
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1. 1 Start an end-to-end encrypted chat. Encrypted chats have an extra level of security and privacy, so that only you and the other participant(s) in the chat can read the messages you send. These chats also offer a “disappearing messages” feature that automatically deletes any messages in the chat after a set period of time. One-on-one Messenger chats between Facebook friends are currently encrypted by default, so you should be able to just start a chat as you normally would.[4] X Research source
   • To check the encryption status of a chat, tap or click the name(s) of the other participant(s) at the top of the chat. You should see the text End-to-end encrypted next to a padlock symbol near the top of the menu.
   • As of February 2025, the disappearing messages feature does not seem to be available in encrypted group chats. We were also unable to turn on encryption in one-on-one chats with people who were not Facebook friends.
2. 2 Open the chat settings menu. From inside the chat, tap or click the name of the other chat participant at the top of the chat window. A new menu will open.
3. 3 Tap or click Disappearing messages. You may need to scroll down to find this option.
4. 4 Select 24 hours. When this setting is enabled, messages will disappear within 24 hours after being seen by the other person in the chat. If the other person doesn’t look at the chat, messages will be automatically deleted after 14 days even if they have not been read.[5] X Research source
   • In the mobile app, tap the < button to save your selection and return to the menu. On a computer, click Done.
   • While other duration options may have been available in the past or may become available in the future, as of February 2025, only the “24 hours” option is available.
   • Setting messages to disappear won’t prevent the other person in the chat from taking screenshots or copying the content of the messages.
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1. 1 From the Messenger app: If you manage a group and you want to delete your group’s community chat, you can do so directly from the Messenger app. This will permanently delete the chat and all messages in the chat. Only admins and moderators can delete community chats.[6] X Research source
   • Tap the ☰ Menu button.
   • Select your community under the Communities header.
   • Tap the community chat you want to delete, then tap the name of the chat at the top of the screen.
   • If you’re on an Android, tap ⋮ > Delete chat. On an iPhone or iPad, just tap Delete chat. You may need to scroll down to find it.
   • Tap Delete again to confirm.
2. 2 From the Facebook app: You can also delete community chats from within Facebook on your mobile device.
   • Tap ☰ Menu from your Facebook feed, then select Groups. You might need to tap See more if you can’t find the Groups option.
   • Select Your groups, then tap the group with the chat you want to delete.
   • Tap Chats. It’s in the horizontal list of buttons at the top of the group.
   • Tap the chat you want to delete, then tap the name of the chat at the top.
   • Scroll down and tap Delete chat, then tap Delete to confirm.
3. 3 From Messenger.com on a computer: Visit https://www.messenger.com and log in with your Facebook account to see all your current chats. From there:
   • Select one of your communities from the lefthand menu.
   • Hover over the chat you want to delete with your cursor, then click •••.
   • Select Delete chat > Delete chat.
4. 4 From the Facebook website: Navigate to https://www.facebook.com/groups and select your group from the menu on the left side of the page. From there:
   • Click Community Chats. You’ll find this under the Admin tools header in the left menu bar.
   • Click the community chat you want to delete. If you don’t see it, click View all.
   • Click the name of the chat at the top of the window.
   • Scroll down and click Delete chat > Delete chat.
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Community Q&A

• Question Is it possible to delete the message to prevent the recipient from reading it? Community Answer No. Once you send a message, you can only delete it from your end. The other person will still be able to open and read your message. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 85 Helpful 66
• Question How do I delete unsolicited group messages from people I do not know? Community Answer These can sometimes come from a mutual friend. If it really bothers you, look at these people's accounts to see their friends, and un-friend your mutual friend. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 3 Helpful 5
• Question Is it possible to recover a deleted message? Community Answer You cannot recover a deleted message once you have confirmed you want it to be deleted. If the recipient has not yet deleted the conversation on their computer, they are able to read the message and copy/paste it to you manually. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 19 Helpful 15

Tips

• Want to delete a group chat from your personal Messenger inbox (and keep it from coming back)? Check out our article to learn how. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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References

1. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/help/messenger-app/194400311449172?cms_platform=ipad-app&helpref=platform_switcher
2. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/help/messenger-app/194400311449172
3. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/help/messenger-app/194400311449172
4. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/help/messenger-app/786613221989782
5. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/help/messenger-app/1039542879410863
6. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/help/messenger-app/828555045048196

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