Delete a single message you sent

You can remove a message you sent from both your view and the other person's view. Open the conversation in Facebook Messenger, find the message you want to delete, and hold your finger on it (on mobile) or hover your mouse over it (on desktop). A menu will appear with options — tap or click "Remove".

When you remove a message this way, the other person sees "You removed a message" in the conversation thread instead of the original text. This works for text messages, photos, videos, and links you sent. The message disappears from your chat history too, but the other person will know something was there.

You have a time limit to remove messages. On most accounts, you can remove a message within 10 minutes of sending it. After that window closes, the remove option stops appearing. If you need to delete something you sent more than 10 minutes ago, you will have to use the unsend feature instead (see below).

Unsend a message permanently

The unsend feature deletes a message completely from both sides of the conversation, with no trace left behind. Find the message, hold your finger on it (mobile) or hover over it (desktop), and select "Unsend" instead of "Remove". The message vanishes entirely — the other person will not see "You unsent a message" or any notification that something was deleted.

Unsend works on messages you sent up to one hour after sending them. After one hour, the unsend option disappears and you can only use the remove feature. This one-hour window applies whether you are on mobile or desktop, and whether you are messaging one person or a group.

One important difference: unsend removes the message from the other person's phone or computer too. They cannot read it or take a screenshot of it after you unsend. However, if they already took a screenshot before you unsent, that image stays on their device — unsend only removes the message from Messenger itself.

Key Takeaways

  • Remove a message within 10 minutes to delete it from your view while the other person sees "You removed a message" in the chat.
  • Unsend a message within one hour to delete it completely from both sides with no notification left behind.
  • After the time window closes (10 minutes for remove, one hour for unsend), neither option will appear in the menu.
  • Unsend does not delete screenshots the other person already took before you unsent the message.
  • Both features work the same way on mobile and desktop — hold or hover, then select the option from the menu.

Delete entire conversations

If you want to remove a whole conversation instead of individual messages, open Messenger and find the chat you want to delete. On mobile, swipe left on the conversation (iPhone) or hold your finger on it (Android), then tap "Delete". On desktop, right-click the conversation and select "Delete".

Deleting a conversation removes it from your message list, but it does not unsend the messages to the other person. They will still see all the messages you sent — only your copy of the conversation disappears. If the person messages you again, the conversation reappears in your list.

This is useful when you want to clean up your inbox or hide a conversation from your view, but understand that the other person still has access to everything you discussed. If you need to actually remove messages from their view, you must unsend individual messages instead.

Clear your message search history

Messenger keeps a record of searches you have done within conversations. To clear this history, open Messenger and tap the search icon at the top. Scroll down to see your recent searches. Tap and hold a search term, then select "Delete" to remove it from your history.

This does not delete the actual messages — it only removes the record that you searched for those words. Your search history is separate from the messages themselves, so clearing it does not affect what the other person can see in the conversation.

What happens when you delete messages on group chats

Removing or unsending messages in a group chat works the same way as one-on-one conversations. Hold or hover over the message and select remove or unsend. Everyone in the group will see "You removed a message" if you use remove, or the message will vanish completely if you use unsend.

The time limits are the same — 10 minutes to remove, one hour to unsend. If you are the group admin, you have the same deletion options as any other member. Being an admin does not give you the ability to delete other people's messages or to delete messages outside the time window.

Troubleshooting: when delete options do not appear

If you cannot find the remove or unsend option when you hold or hover over a message, the most common reason is that you have passed the time limit. Remove stops working after 10 minutes, and unsend stops working after one hour. Check the timestamp on the message — if it is older than that, the options will not appear.

Another reason the options might not show up is that you are trying to delete a message someone else sent. You can only remove or unsend your own messages. If someone else sent a message you want gone, you can report it to Facebook if it violates their rules, but you cannot delete it yourself.

If the options still do not appear and the message is within the time window, try closing Messenger completely and opening it again. Sometimes the app needs to refresh to show the menu. On desktop, try a different browser or clear your browser cache. If the problem continues, the message may have a technical issue preventing deletion — contact Facebook support through the app's help menu.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I delete messages someone else sent to me?

No, you can only delete messages you sent yourself. When you delete your own message, it removes it from your view or from both sides depending on whether you use remove or unsend. To remove a message from someone else, that person has to delete it on their end, or you can report it to Facebook if it breaks their community rules.

Does the other person get notified when I unsend a message?

No notification appears when you unsend. The message simply vanishes from their chat. However, if they were actively looking at the conversation when you unsent it, they might notice the message disappeared. They will not receive a notification about it, but they may see it happen in real time.

Can I recover a message I unsent by accident?

No, unsend is permanent. Once you unsend a message, it is gone from both sides and cannot be recovered through Messenger. If you need to send the message again, you will have to type it out and resend it. There is no undo feature for unsend.

What is the difference between remove and unsend?

Remove deletes the message from your view and shows the other person "You removed a message" in the chat. Unsend deletes it completely from both sides with no trace. Use remove if you want the other person to know you deleted something, or unsend if you want it gone without any notification.

Do I need to be online to delete messages?

No, you can delete messages whether you are online or offline. The deletion happens when you perform the action, not based on your connection status. However, you do need an internet connection to send the delete command to Messenger's servers.