Facebook Messenger allows users to send messages to each other through the Facebook platform. It’s a convenient way to communicate with friends and family. However, sometimes messages are sent that the sender later regrets and wants to delete. This raises the question: if you delete a message you sent on Facebook Messenger, does it delete the message for the recipient as well?
The Short Answer
No, deleting a message you sent on Facebook Messenger does not delete it from the recipient’s inbox. When you delete a message you sent, it only deletes it from your own inbox. The recipient can still see the full conversation, including the message you deleted.
Looking at How Facebook Messenger Works
To understand why deleting a message doesn’t remove it for the other person, it helps to look at how Facebook Messenger works.
When you send a message on Messenger, it gets sent from your device to Facebook’s servers. This sends a copy of the message to the recipient’s account on Facebook’s servers. So even after you hit “send,” the message exists on Facebook’s servers until the recipient deletes it.
When you delete a message you sent, you are only deleting it from your own inbox and your own account. This does not affect the copy of the message stored in the recipient’s inbox on Facebook’s servers. So for the recipient, the message still exists in their inbox until they manually delete it.
A One-Way Deletion
In summary, deleting a sent message on Messenger is a one-way action that only affects your own inbox. It does not delete or alter the message on the recipient’s end. You are only deleting your own copy of the message trail.
Examples of When Deleting Doesn’t Sync
To further illustrate this, here are some examples of when deleting a sent message on Messenger does not remove it for the person who received it:
- Alice sends Bob a message that says “Want to get dinner tonight?” She later deletes this message from her Messenger inbox because she made other plans. But Bob can still see the message from Alice asking about dinner.
- Carol drunkenly sends her friend Daniel an embarrassing message on Messenger. The next morning, Carol deletes the drunken message from her inbox in embarrassment. However, Daniel can still see the drunk message Carol sent.
- Frank sends a sensitive work-related message to his coworker Gaby on Messenger. Frank later deletes the message from his inbox for security reasons. However, Gaby still has the work message from Frank in her inbox.
In all these cases, the sender deleted their copy of the message. But that did not remove the message from the recipient’s inbox. This demonstrates that deleting only affects your own inbox, not the recipient’s.
Does This Apply to All Messages?
This one-way deletion applies to all messages you send via Facebook Messenger, including:
- Regular text messages
- Photos
- Videos
- Audio messages
- Sticker or GIFs
- Messages sent in group chats
No matter the message format, deleting from your sent box does not remove it from the recipient’s inbox. The only way to delete a message for everyone is if the recipient deletes it themselves.
Is There Any Way to Delete for Both Parties?
Since deleting only removes the message from your own inbox, is there any way to delete a message for both you and the recipient?
Unfortunately, there is no built-in Messenger feature that lets you delete a message for all parties. Only the recipient has the ability to delete the message from their inbox.
Your only option is to ask the recipient to delete the message themselves. You could say something like “Hey, can you do me a favor and delete my last message?” But this relies on the recipient voluntarily deleting it.
Unsending Only Works for a Limited Time
Facebook does have an “unsend” feature that lets you retract a message. However, this only works within 10 minutes of sending the message.
If you “unsend” a message within 10 minutes, it will be removed for both you and the recipient. But after 10 minutes, the “unsend” option goes away. At that point deleting will only remove it from your inbox.
Does Deleting on Messenger Delete on Your Facebook Activity Log?
When you send and receive messages on Messenger, they get saved to your Facebook Activity Log. This contains your full history of messages across Facebook.
If you delete a sent message from Messenger, it does also get deleted from your Facebook Activity Log. So the message disappears from your Facebook history entirely.
However, it still remains visible in the recipient’s Facebook Activity Log. Their message history is not impacted when you delete.
Why Your Facebook History Matters
Your Facebook Activity Log matters because it creates a centralized record of all your Facebook communications. Even if you delete messages from Messenger, any sensitive or embarrassing ones may still exist in your recipient’s Activity Log.
So don’t assume a message is ever truly gone just because you deleted it. In most cases, a record of it still exists on Facebook’s servers.
Does Deleting Messenger Chats Delete the Entire Conversation?
On Messenger, you also have the option to delete an entire chat thread with a person. But does this delete the conversation for them as well?
Unfortunately, no. Deleting a chat thread only removes it from your own inbox. The recipient can still see the full conversation in their inbox, including any messages you deleted.
From the recipient’s perspective, it will just appear that you suddenly stopped replying. But all your past messages remain visible unless they delete the chat too.
You Can’t Even Delete a Chat if the Other Person Sent the Last Message
Furthermore, Messenger doesn’t even allow you to delete a chat thread if the other person sent the last message. This prevents you from deleting the full conversational context on your end.
So if you want to delete a chat where the recipient sent the last message, you would have to block that person. Blocking them removes the chat for you, but they would still see the full conversation.
Does Deleting Delete Media Files Sent via Messenger?
If you send photo, video or audio files through Messenger, does deleting the messages also delete the media files?
The answer is no. If you send a photo via Messenger and later delete the message, the photo file itself continues to be stored on Facebook’s servers. The recipient can still view and download the photo, even if your message is deleted.
The same applies to videos, audio, documents or any other files sent through Messenger. Deleting the messages does not delete the actual media content stored on Facebook’s servers.
Media Files Stay on Facebook’s Servers
In summary, while deleting a message removes the text or notification that you sent a file, the file itself persists on Facebook’s servers. Recipients maintain access to the media content.
The only way to remove a media file from Facebook’s servers is if the recipient deletes it. When they delete a file you sent, it should delete the content altogether.
Does Turning Off Chat History Delete Messages?
Within your Facebook settings, you have the option to turn off chat history. Does disabling chat history delete all your previous Messenger messages?
No. Turning off chat history only prevents your future messages from being logged and stored. It does not retroactively delete your existing message history.
So any messages sent before you turned off chat history should still be present in your inbox and the recipient’s inbox. Disabling history only affects messages going forward.
How Turning Off History Works
When you turn off chat history in your Facebook settings:
- Your past messages remain stored in your inbox and the recipient’s inbox.
- Any new messages will not be saved to your inbox after the conversation ends.
- The recipient’s chat history will still save new messages even if yours doesn’t.
So this feature does not let you retroactively delete previous conversations. Recipients will still have a complete history of your past chats.
Does Deleting Facebook Messages Delete on Instagram?
What if you message someone through Instagram Direct using your connected Facebook account? If you delete those messages on Facebook Messenger, does it delete them on Instagram too?
Unfortunately, no. Instagram Direct and Facebook Messenger have separate inboxes. Deleting a message on Facebook does not remove it from the recipient’s Instagram inbox.
And vice versa – deleting an Instagram Direct message does not remove it from your Facebook inbox if you used a connected account. Your message history is stored separately in each app.
Facebook and Instagram Inboxes Are Not Synced
In summary, Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct have separate databases for storing messages. Actions like deleting are only localized to the app you performed them in.
So be aware that any sensitive messages sent via connected accounts on Instagram or Facebook will persist in both places unless deleted from each app individually.
Does Deleting Delete for Group Messages?
What if you delete a message you sent in a group chat on Messenger? Does it delete for everyone in the group?
Unfortunately, it does not. When you delete a message sent in a group chat, it only removes it from your own view of the chat. All other participants in the group can still see your message in their inbox.
Group Messages Behave the Same
In essence, group messages behave the same as one-on-one messages. Deleting only removes the message from your perspective, not for any of the recipients.
The only way a group message gets deleted for everyone is if the original sender manually deletes it within 10 minutes using the unsend feature. Otherwise, your deletion only affects your own view of the chat.
Does Deleting Delete Messages from Your Linked Devices?
If you have Messenger linked across multiple devices, does deleting a message on one device remove it from your other linked devices?
Yes, in this case deletion does sync across your devices. When you delete a message from one device, it does get removed from your inbox on your other linked devices as well.
For example, if you delete a message from Messenger on your iPhone, it will also disappear from your inbox if you check Messenger on your computer. The deletion syncs because these are your own linked devices.
Deletion Syncs on Your Own Devices
In summary, deleting a message will remove it from all your personal devices that are linked to the same Facebook account. But it will not remove it from the recipient’s devices or inboxes.
Is There Any Way to Permanently Delete a Message for Both Parties?
Based on Facebook’s current messaging infrastructure, there is no reliable method to permanently delete a Messenger message for both you and the recipient once the 10-minute unsend window has passed.
The only way is to ask the recipient to voluntarily delete the message from their inbox. Even blocking the recipient just removes the message from your end, not theirs.
This highlights the need for caution when sending sensitive communications via Messenger that you may later regret. Always think carefully before sending any compromising photos, insults, sensitive data, or confidential information over Messenger.
Exercise Caution When Messaging
Once you hit send, you lose control over that message. Nothing short of the recipient deleting it will fully remove it, so exercise appropriate caution when messaging.
If there is a sensitive message in your inbox from someone else that you want eliminated entirely, you can delete it which should fully remove it across Facebook’s servers and your devices.
Can Facebook Change This in the Future?
While Facebook currently does not allow senders to delete messages for everyone, could they change this functionality in the future?
It’s possible. Tech giants have been pressured to give users more control over their digital footprints. Due to privacy concerns, Facebook could yield to demands for senders to be able to fully retract messages.
For example, they could implement a “Delete for Both Parties” option or extend the window for the Unsend feature beyond 10 minutes.
For now, such abilities do not exist natively within Messenger. But with enough public pressure, Facebook may add them down the road. More prominent deletion abilities would likely be opt-in and come with warnings to prevent abuse.
We’ll Have to Wait and See
Only time will tell if Facebook ever provides an official solution for deleting messages from both recipients’ inboxes. For now, no such option exists within their platforms.
The Takeaway on Deleting Facebook Messages
To recap the key points on whether deleting Facebook messages removes them for recipients:
- Deleting a message from Messenger only removes it from your inbox, not the recipient’s.
- The only way to delete a message for both parties is if the recipient deletes it.
- You can only “unsend” a message to delete it for everyone within 10 minutes of sending.
- Turning off chat history doesn’t retroactively delete previous messages.
- Deleting media files doesn’t remove them from Facebook’s servers.
- Deletion doesn’t sync across Instagram and Facebook.
- In group chats, deleting only affects your view of the conversation.
In summary, deleting a message on Facebook Messenger or Instagram Direct only removes it from your perspective. The recipient maintains access to the message in their inbox unless they also delete it.
This underscores the need to exercise caution when sending sensitive communications using Facebook’s platforms. Once you hit send, consider the message out of your control unless the recipient voluntarily removes it.
Key Takeaways
- Deleting a sent message on Messenger only removes it from your inbox, not the recipient’s.
- The only way to reliably delete a message for everyone is if the recipient manually deletes it.
- You should exercise appropriate caution when sending sensitive information over Messenger.
- Facebook may eventually allow senders to delete for all parties, but currently no such native feature exists.