Facebook Messenger allows users to have conversations and exchange messages with friends and connections on the platform. Sometimes in a conversation, a user may send a message that they later regret or that they want to delete for privacy reasons. The ability to delete Facebook messages is a common question for many Messenger users.
Can you delete Facebook messages you’ve sent?
Yes, it is possible to delete Facebook messages you have sent, with some limitations. When you delete a message you sent, it is removed from your view of the conversation. However, it will still be visible to the recipient(s) of the message.
Here are some key points about deleting Facebook messages you’ve sent:
- You can only delete messages you have sent – you cannot delete messages sent to you by other people.
- Deleted messages are removed from your view of the conversation immediately.
- The recipient(s) can still see the message you deleted in their view of the conversation.
- There is no time limit on when you can delete a message you’ve sent.
- You can only delete your own messages on a one-by-one basis, you cannot mass delete multiple messages.
- Deleted messages may still be recovered by Facebook for up to 10 minutes after deletion.
So in summary, deleting a Facebook message only removes it from your view, not the view of those you sent it to. The recipient(s) can still see and recover the message for a short time after it is deleted.
Can you delete Facebook messages received from others?
No, there is no way to delete Facebook messages that were sent to you by other users. Even if you delete the message from your view, it remains visible in the sender’s view of the conversation.
Here is some more information on deleting messages received:
- You can only hide messages received from your view – there is no way to delete them entirely from the conversation.
- To hide a message sent to you, click on the message and select “Hide from view”.
- The message remains visible to the sender even when hidden from your view.
- If you block a user, their messages are also hidden from your view of the conversation history.
- Hidden messages can still be recovered by Facebook for a short time after being hidden.
In summary, while you can hide messages you’ve received in Facebook Messenger, there is no way to permanently delete them from the conversation thread.
Can you delete Facebook messages from both sides of the conversation?
Unfortunately, there is no method within Facebook Messenger itself to permanently delete a message from both sides of a conversation.
Here is an explanation of why deleting Facebook messages entirely is not possible:
- Messenger has no “recall message” feature to delete a sent message from both sides.
- You can only delete messages you have personally sent, not ones sent to you.
- Deleted messages remain visible to the recipient(s) for a short time after deletion.
- There is no way to coordinate mutual deletion of a message from both accounts.
- Even if a message is hidden from view or a user is blocked, the message data likely still exists in Facebook’s system.
The only exception is if both users mutually agree to block each other, which would hide messages from view on both ends. However, the messages could still be restored.
In summary, true two-sided deletion is not possible through the normal Messenger interface and settings.
Are there any other options to delete Facebook messages from both sides?
While Facebook Messenger itself does not allow two-sided message deletion, there are some other options users can try outside of the app:
- Mutually agree with the other user to manually delete the unwanted message from each account.
- Use a third-party app or service to try and erase the message data.
- Report the message to Facebook and request permanent removal from their servers.
- Delete your Facebook account entirely, which would eliminate your message history.
However, success is not guaranteed with any of these methods. Manual deletion relies on both users cooperating. Third-party services may not work reliably or completely. Facebook may not comply with removal requests. And deleting your account is an extreme measure.
In most cases, the most pragmatic solution is to simply hide unwanted messages you’ve received and delete any regretful messages you’ve sent yourself.
Conclusion
Overall, while Facebook Messenger provides the option to delete messages you have personally sent, there is currently no official feature to allow deleting messages from both sides of a conversation.
Sent messages can only be removed from the sender’s view, not the recipient’s. Received messages can be hidden but not deleted. True two-sided deletion is not possible within Messenger itself.
Users do have some limited options to attempt mutual deletion through agreement with the other party or third-party apps. However, there is no full-proof method to guarantee permanent erasure of a message from both accounts and Facebook’s servers.
For most purposes, hiding unwanted received messages and deleting sent ones you regret is the best that can be achieved natively within Facebook Messenger.