You can delete a message you sent, or delete it only from your own phone
WhatsApp gives you two ways to remove a message. You can delete for everyone, which removes it from the recipient's phone too — but only if you do it within 13 minutes of sending. Or you can delete for me, which removes it only from your own device while the other person still sees it. The steps are the same on iPhone and Android, though the exact wording differs slightly.
Deleting a message does not erase it from WhatsApp's servers or from backups you have already made. If you have turned on automatic backups to Google Drive or iCloud, the message may still exist in that backup even after you delete it from the app.
Key Takeaways
- Delete for everyone removes a message from both phones, but only works within 13 minutes of sending it.
- Delete for me removes a message from your phone only; the other person will still see it.
- Deleting a message from the app does not remove it from cloud backups you have already created.
- On both iPhone and Android, you long-press the message, then tap the delete option that appears.
How to delete a message on iPhone
Open the WhatsApp conversation containing the message you want to remove. Find the message and press and hold it with your finger until a menu appears above it. The menu will show several options including a trash can icon or the word "Delete".
Tap the trash icon or Delete option. A popup will ask whether you want to "Delete for Me" or "Delete for Everyone". Choose the one you need. If more than 13 minutes have passed since you sent the message, the "Delete for Everyone" option will be grayed out and unavailable — you can only delete for yourself at that point.
How to delete a message on Android
Open the conversation in WhatsApp and find the message. Press and hold the message until it is highlighted in a light color. A toolbar will appear at the top of the screen with several icons, including a trash can.
Tap the trash can icon. A popup will appear asking "Delete for Me" or "Delete for Everyone". Select the option you want. Again, "Delete for Everyone" is only available within 13 minutes of sending. After that window closes, you can only delete the message from your own phone.
What happens when you delete for everyone
When you tap "Delete for Everyone", WhatsApp sends a deletion command to the recipient's phone. The message disappears from their chat history and they see a notification that says "This message was deleted" in its place. This works even if they have not read the message yet.
The 13-minute window is a hard limit. WhatsApp does not give you a countdown timer, so if you are unsure whether enough time has passed, try the long-press menu and look at whether "Delete for Everyone" is available. If it is grayed out, the time has expired.
What happens when you delete for me
Choosing "Delete for Me" removes the message from your WhatsApp chat on that device only. The recipient sees no notification and the message remains in their conversation exactly as it was. If you use WhatsApp on multiple devices — for example, an iPhone and a tablet — deleting on one device does not delete it on the other.
This option is useful if you want to clean up your own chat history without affecting what the other person sees, or if you have passed the 13-minute window and cannot delete for everyone.
Deleting messages and your backups
If you have set up automatic backups in WhatsApp, messages you delete from the app may still exist in those backups. On iPhone, WhatsApp backs up to iCloud if you have enabled it in WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat Backup. On Android, backups go to Google Drive if you have connected your Google account in WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat Backup.
These backups are created on a schedule you set — daily, weekly, or monthly. A message you delete today might still be in a backup created yesterday. If you restore WhatsApp from a backup, deleted messages will reappear. To truly remove a message from your backups, you would need to create a new backup after deleting it, or disable backups entirely.
Deleting entire conversations
If you want to remove a whole conversation rather than individual messages, the process is different. On iPhone, swipe left on the conversation in your chat list and tap Delete. On Android, press and hold the conversation and tap the trash icon. This removes the entire chat from your phone, though again, it may remain in your backups.
Deleting a conversation does not notify the other person. They will still see your messages if they open the chat, and they can still message you — the conversation will reappear in your list when they do.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the other person see that I deleted a message?
If you use "Delete for Everyone", they see a notification saying "This message was deleted" but cannot see what the message said. If you use "Delete for Me", they see nothing — the message stays in their chat as normal.
What if I delete a message after 13 minutes?
After 13 minutes, "Delete for Everyone" is no longer an option. You can only delete the message from your own phone using "Delete for Me". The other person will continue to see the message in their chat.
Does deleting a message remove it from WhatsApp's servers?
No. WhatsApp's servers process the deletion command, but the company retains message data according to its privacy policy. Deleting from the app only removes it from your device and the recipient's device.
If I delete a message, will it disappear from my backup?
Not automatically. If you have already created a backup containing that message, it will remain in the backup even after you delete it from the app. You would need to create a new backup after deleting to exclude the message from future backups.
Can I delete a message someone sent to me?
You can delete it from your own phone using "Delete for Me", but you cannot delete it from the sender's phone. "Delete for Everyone" only works on messages you sent yourself.