How do you Delete all messages on Facebook Chat?

Facebook Messenger allows users to send messages, photos, GIFs, videos, voice messages, and more to friends and connections on the platform. Over time, message threads can become cluttered and users may want to clear out old conversations. Fortunately, Facebook provides a couple different options for deleting messages on Messenger.

Delete All Conversations

The quickest way to delete all messages on Facebook Messenger is to use the “Clear Conversations” option. This will delete all message threads and conversations at once. Here are the steps:

Open the Facebook Messenger app on your smartphone or tablet, or go to messenger.com on your computer.

In the Chats tab, tap on your profile picture in the top left corner.
Select “Clear Conversations” from the menu.
Confirm that you want to delete all conversations by tapping “Clear All Conversations.”

All of your Messenger conversations will now be deleted. This clears out all messages, images, videos, and audio files you’ve sent or received on the app.

Delete Individual Conversations

If you only want to delete certain conversations instead of everything all at once, you can delete individual message threads:

Open the Facebook Messenger app and go to the Chats tab.

Swipe left on a conversation you want to delete.
Tap the trash icon to delete the conversation.
Confirm the delete by tapping “Delete Conversation.”

Repeat this for each conversation you want to remove from Messenger. This will allow you to delete specific message threads while keeping others.

Delete Messages within Conversations

Another option is to delete certain messages within conversations while keeping the threads themselves. Here’s how:

Open a conversation in Messenger and tap on the message you want to delete.

Tap “Remove” to delete only that message.
Confirm the deletion by tapping “Remove” again.

This will delete a specific message without getting rid of the entire conversation. You can repeat these steps to remove other individual messages as needed.

Delete Messages for Everyone

If you’ve sent a message in Messenger that you want to delete for all participants, not just yourself, you can delete it for everyone:

Tap and hold the message you want to delete.
Tap “Remove for Everyone” from the menu.

Select “Remove” to confirm the deletion.

This will delete that message from the conversation for all participants. However, you only have a limited time to delete messages for everyone (around 10 minutes) so act quickly if you need to remove a message for all users.

Why You May Want to Delete Messenger Conversations

Here are some common reasons for clearing out your old Messenger conversations and messages:

To free up storage space on your devices if messages are taking up a lot of room.
To remove old or lapsed conversations that you no longer need access to.
To get rid of embarrassing, insensitive, or inappropriate messages you’ve sent.

If you don’t want certain people to have a written record of your conversations.
To completely remove conversations with ex-partners, former friends, or others you no longer communicate with.
To start fresh if you feel like you have too many chat threads cluttering up Messenger.

What Gets Deleted When You Clear Conversations

Deleting your Messenger conversations removes the following information:

The text, photos, videos and any other media sent in conversations.
Voice messages exchanged with friends and connections.

Chat histories and threads showing messages sent back and forth.
Notifications and records of who has seen specific messages.
Any links or content that was shared in the messages.

It’s important to note that when you delete Messenger conversations or messages, they are erased permanently. So make sure you really want those conversations gone before deleting them, as there is no way to recover them.

What Does NOT Get Deleted

When you clear your message history, some data is not deleted:

Your Messenger contacts and friends list remain intact.

Friends still stay connected with you in Messenger.
Your Messenger settings and account information are not changed.
Conversations may still appear in notifications and on other devices until they are cleared from those places as well.

So clearing conversations does not delete your connections or your overall account. It simply erases the message threads themselves.

How to Delete Facebook Conversations on a Computer

You can also delete Facebook conversations from a computer. Here’s how:

Go to www.facebook.com and log into your account.

Click on the Messenger icon in the upper right.
Open a conversation you want to delete.
Click on the gear icon at the top of the message thread.

Select “Delete Conversation.”
Confirm the delete by clicking “Delete.”

This will let you delete entire conversations. To delete individual messages, simply hover over a message and click the “X” icon.

How to Delete Facebook Messages on Mobile Web

If you need to delete Facebook conversations from your mobile web browser, here are the steps:

Go to www.facebook.com in your phone or tablet’s browser.
Tap the Messenger icon.

Tap your profile picture and select “Clear Conversations.”
Confirm that you want to clear all conversations.

This will delete all message threads at once. You can also swipe left on individual conversations and tap “Delete” to remove specific threads.

Delete Conversations for a Deceased Person

If you need to access a deceased relative or friend’s Facebook account to delete their Messenger conversations, you will need to submit proof to Facebook that you are an immediate family member or executor. Here is the process:

Fill out Facebook’s special request form for deceased users.
Provide the required documentation proving your relationship.

Submit a request for data deletion.
Once approved, you can log into their account and delete conversations.
Be sure to fully memorialize or delete the account when finished.

This allows you to access the account, clear any messages, and close down the account respectfully.

Recover Deleted Facebook Messages

As mentioned previously, when you delete Facebook conversations and messages, they are permanently erased and cannot be retrieved. However, there are a couple ways you may be able to find records of past conversations:

On old devices: If you still have old phones or computers where you used Messenger, you may find archived conversations still saved in the app or your files.

In emails: If you connected your Facebook account to your email, some messages may have been emailed to you and could be in your inbox.
Exports: If you previously exported your Facebook data, old messages could be stored in those archives.

Outside of these options, there is no native way to recover deleted Facebook messages or conversations within the app itself. The data is erased fully when you delete it.

Does Deleting Facebook Messages Also Delete Them for Recipients?

When you delete your messages or conversations, it only affects what you see in your account. Your messaging contacts will still have copies of the conversations in their own accounts unless they also choose to delete them. The only exception is if you specifically choose to “Delete for Everyone” when initially deleting a message.

Can You Delete a Facebook Message but Keep It for Yourself?

There is no option to delete a Facebook message for another recipient while keeping it for yourself. You can either:

Delete the message for both you and your messaging partner by selecting “Remove.”

Delete a message for both of you by choosing “Remove for Everyone.”

But there is no way to delete a message just for them while preserving it for only your account.

Is There a Way to Auto Delete Old Facebook Messages?

Unfortunately, there is no native setting to automatically delete older Facebook messages after a certain period of time. The only auto-delete feature is to remove messages after a set duration when using the “Secret Conversations” option in Messenger.

Some things you can do instead include:

Manually clearing old conversations on a regular basis.
Hiding conversations you don’t need to see all the time but don’t want to delete.

Turning off chat history in your Facebook settings.

But there is no built-in way to set Messenger conversations to expire or auto-delete themselves automatically after a chosen timeframe.

Should You Delete Facebook Conversations?

Here are some pros and cons to weigh when considering deleting your Facebook messages:

Pros

Frees up storage space on your devices.
Makes Messenger feel less cluttered.
Removes old or lapsed conversations you no longer need.

Lets you remove messages you regret sending.

Cons

Permanently erases conversation histories.
Recipient keeps their copy of the messages.

Could remove conversations you might want to look back on later.

Overall, it’s a personal decision based on your own needs and preferences. Make sure you really want those conversations gone forever before deleting them.

Conclusion

Deleting Facebook conversations allows you to clear out old or unwanted messages and threads from Messenger. You can delete all conversations at once, remove specific threads individually, or delete singular messages within conversations. However, deleted conversations and messages cannot be recovered, so only delete what you’re sure you no longer need or want.