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How to delete old chats on whatsapp


How to delete one-week-old WhatsApp messages for everyone? [2022]

Do you need to delete old WhatsApp messages from everyone? Let us see how to delete old WhatsApp messages for everyone with easy steps along with practical interpretation.

WhatsApp is a free online messaging application used by most people. Some use dictionary to correct their spelling while typing, and sometimes this may lead to errors by typing a different word other than the one you meant to type. Similarly, some may send a wrong message to an individual and so on. Have you committed any such mistake while organizing and sent it without noticing?

Then here we are to provide you with the solution to correct your error. You may wonder how to delete old messages. Well, you can delete old messages. Now the question, “how to delete old WhatsApp messages for everyone,” may pop up in your mind? Here we are to help you to overcome this query with simple steps.

Part 1: WhatsApp delete for everyone, time limit

WhatsApp allows you to delete messages to all recipients within a period. Want to know how to delete WhatsApp messages for everyone within the time limit? Then you are at a proper place to find it. 

1. Delete message for me

There may be few messages you want to delete in your chat, so you can’t find them anymore. WhatsApp gives you the option to do the same. Open the conversation in which you want to delete the message.

Step 1: Select Message

Using long-press, select the message or messages you want to delete and click on the delete icon on top.

Step 2: Delete Messages – Two Option

a. If you are trying to delete the message at the instant you received/sent it, then among the three options in the pop-up, click on “Delete for me.” Then the message gets deleted without leaving behind any trace.

b. If you try to delete it after an hour, then a pop-up message will appear with two options. Click on the “Delete for me” option.

2. Delete WhatsApp message for everyone

You may face a situation where the message you have typed and sent in WhatsApp contains some mistakes, and you don’t want anyone else to see the message. Do not worry, as WhatsApp has a unique feature that allows you to delete a specific message you have sent to an individual or group. Note that the following options will only display if you try to delete the message within an hour after you have sent it. Also, this feature is supported only for the texts you sent and not for the received messages.

Step 1: Choose Messag

Select the message you want to delete using a long press. Click on the delete icon, which displays on top.

Step 2: Remove Message

A pop-up message displays with three options. Click on the “Delete for Everyone” option.

Step 3: Screen After Message Delete

Now the selected message will get deleted for everyone who received the conversation, and on your screen, the message will be deleted with a saying, “You deleted this message. ”

Important Note:

You can also delete multiple messages simultaneously by selecting the texts and following the same procedure discussed above. After one hour, you will be able to delete messages only for yourself rather than deleting the messages for everyone who received it. So deleting a message depends on your decision and quick action. There is also a chance that the recipients might see your message before deleting it if you are deleting it late.

Part 2: How to delete WhatsApp messages for everyone up to One Week Old?

After getting to know how to delete messages for everyone, you may wonder that “Can I not delete a message for everyone after 1 hour?” Well, yes, you can! Here we provide you with steps for how to delete old WhatsApp messages for everyone. 

Note that this is possible only if it was you who sent the message. Without any further delay, let’s get into the process of doing so. First of all, turn off your Wi-Fi or mobile data on your device.

Step 1: Visit Apps and Notification

Go to “Settings” and click on “Apps” or “Apps and Notifications.”

Step 2: Select WhatsApp

Amongst the list of applications available, click on “WhatsApp.”

Step 3: Pause WhatsAp

Select the button “Force stop” and click on “OK” on the pop-up message which will pause the functioning of WhatsApp.

Step 4: Set Date and Time Manuall

Select “Date and time” under Settings.

Turn off the automatic time setter.

Manually set the date and time, which matches the message you want to delete. 

Step 5: Delete Message for Everyon

Now go to WhatsApp and select the message to be deleted. You will now see a pop-up message with three deleting options. Click on “Delete for Everyone” to delete the message for everyone who has received it.

Step 6: Change Time and Date to Automati

Now turn on your Wi-Fi or mobile data, and under Settings, change back the date and time to be automatic.

Note: If you want, you can now check that you successfully deleted the messages for everyone in WhatsApp.

Conclusion

Thus, now you all need not worry if you forgot to delete the message in WhatsApp. I hope that we could clarified your doubt on, “how to delete old WhatsApp messages for everyone?” Now go on and rectify the mistakes which took place earlier at ease.

How to delete WhatsApp messages Android Authority

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

WhatsApp is a top-rated messaging app, with billions of chats sent daily. However, this also means there’s a good chance you have too many messages to handle. Furthermore, a message or two might sometimes end up in the wrong place. If those sound like problems you’ve faced, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll walk you through how to delete a WhatsApp message, whether it’s one you sent, a conversation, or your entire history. There’s also an unofficial way to delete WhatsApp messages up to a week old, so we’ll touch on that, too.

See also: How to backup WhatsApp: Never lose a message again

QUICK ANSWER

You can delete WhatsApp messages by pressing and holding on to the message you want to delete. Then tap on the trash can icon and select Delete for Everyone.

JUMP TO KEY SECTIONS

  • How to delete a WhatsApp message
  • Deleting a WhatsApp chat
  • What about deleting week-old chats?

Editor’s note: All instructions on this post were created using a Pixel 4a with 5G smartphone running Android 12. Steps may vary from device to device, especially if you’re running another OS.

How to delete a WhatsApp message

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

Fear not if you accidentally pressed send on a message to the wrong group. You have up to seven minutes to delete a message for everyone before it becomes a set-in-stone part of history. The steps are straightforward, so just head to the group chat in question first.

How to unsend or delete WhatsApp messages:

  1. Press and hold the message (or messages) to select it.
  2. Tap on the Delete button with a trashcan icon.
  3. Select Delete for everyone.

The message should be gone, but we can’t help if your recipients read it before you get to it. They may have also saved images you sent to their phones, which you can no longer delete. If you want to delete a message from your own chat, follow the steps above and press Delete for me instead of Delete for everyone. Luckily, you don’t have to worry about the one-hour time limit in this case.

See also: How to delete a WhatsApp account

How to delete a WhatsApp chat

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

Why not purge the whole chat? It’s a more extreme measure, but it will clear your history of old conversations you may no longer need. Remember that none of the procedures in this section will delete messages for other users.

How to delete individual chats on WhatsApp:

  1. Press and hold the conversation you want to delete in the Chats tab.
  2. Tap on the Delete button with a trashcan icon, then press Delete.

How to delete group chats on WhatsApp:

Group chats take one more step before you can delete them, and that is to exit the group first. This allows the rest of the group to carry on without you.

  1. In Chats, press and hold the chat you wish to escape.
  2. Tap the button with the three-dot icon, then press Exit group and confirm.
  3. Press and hold the group chat once more, then tap on the trash can icon and select Delete.

Clearing all of your chats on WhatsApp:

Your last option for deleting chats is to purge the entire slate. This will eliminate all of your conversations and status updates, but you’ll still have to exit each group chat one at a time.

  1. In the Chats tab, click on the three-dot menu icon.
  2. Enter the Settings menu, followed by Chats and Chat history.
  3. Press Delete all chats.
  4. Confirm by pressing Delete chats.

What about deleting week-old chats?

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

We teased it right up top, but there’s a unique way to extend your one-hour “delete for everyone” option that doesn’t involve a time machine. It’s far more complex than the last few methods, but sometimes you must do what you must do.

How to delete WhatsApp messages after the time limit:

  1. Make a note of the date and time of the message you plan to delete.
  2. Force quit out of WhatsApp.
  3. Go into Settings > Network & internet > SIMs. Disable both Mobile data and Roaming, or toggle the SIM off.
  4. Go back to Network & internet and activate Airplane mode.
  5. Open Settings > System > Date & time and change your phone’s date and time before sending the message.
  6. Return to WhatsApp, select the message you want to delete, and press Delete for everyone.

There you go, one deleted message with no time limits involved. The idea is to trick WhatsApp into thinking you never missed the cutoff time. Don’t forget to change your date and time back to the present and double-check that the process worked. If it did not, you might want to try again. Also, you cannot delete messages older than four months, or WhatsApp will know that something is up. You must also ensure you’re on the latest version of WhatsApp.

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FAQs

If you created a backup before you deleted the WhatsApp message, you can restore the backup and get your deleted messages back.

You shouldn’t be able to delete messages for everyone once a contact has already read them. There’s also a chance your recipient read the message through the notification before you got to delete it. There’s even a chance they took a screenshot of it, which means that deleted message still exists, and WhatsApp won’t notify you about the screenshot, either. All that to say, deleted messages can still find their way back.

Yes. The recipient will know you’ve deleted a message. Where the message once was, the recipient will see a statement saying the message was deleted.

The only way to recover deleted WhatsApp messages is to restore a backup in which the deleted messages still existed. You’ll need to act quickly before a new backup is created. Simply uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp, log in, and restore the last backup when prompted.

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