WhatsApp's "Delete for Everyone" feature allows users to delete messages they have sent in individual or group chats so that the message is removed from both the sender's and recipients' devices. This is useful if you sent a message to the wrong chat or made a mistake. When a message is deleted for everyone, it is replaced with the text "This message was deleted" in the chat
How to Delete Messages for Everyone on WhatsApp
- Open WhatsApp and go to the chat containing the message you want to delete.
- Tap and hold the message.
- Tap the trash/delete icon.
- Select Delete for Everyone.
Group admins can also delete messages sent by other members, which will show "This message was deleted by admin [admin name]" in the chat
Important Notes and Limitations
- Both you and the recipients must be using the latest version of WhatsApp.
- Recipients might still see the message before it's deleted or if deletion fails.
- You have up to two days after sending a message to delete it for everyone.
- After this time, the option to delete for everyone is no longer available; you can only delete messages for yourself.
- Deleting messages for yourself only removes the message from your device and does not affect recipients' chats
Workarounds for Deleting Older Messages for Everyone
WhatsApp officially limits the "Delete for Everyone" feature to messages sent within the last two days. However, some users have found a workaround by changing their device's date and time settings to an earlier time before the message was sent, then deleting the message for everyone while in airplane mode. This method can sometimes bypass WhatsApp's time restriction, allowing deletion of older messages, but it is not officially supported and may not always work
Additional Information
- Deleted messages cannot be recovered unless backed up.
- Media files might remain saved on recipients' devices even after message deletion.
- There are apps like Unseen Messenger that can capture and show deleted messages by monitoring notifications, but these are third-party solutions and not part of WhatsApp itself
In summary, WhatsApp's "Delete for Everyone" feature lets you remove sent messages from all chat participants within two days of sending, with some unofficial methods existing to delete older messages. Group admins have additional control to delete others' messages in group chats
