You can delete a message you sent, but the other person will still see it was there
Facebook Messenger lets you remove messages in two ways: delete for yourself or delete for everyone. Delete for yourself removes the message from your chat history only — the other person still sees it. Delete for everyone removes it from both sides, but only works within 10 minutes of sending, and the recipient will see a notification that you deleted a message.
The steps differ slightly depending on whether you use Messenger on a phone, tablet, or computer. On all devices, you need to find the specific message first, then choose which deletion option you want.
Key Takeaways
- Delete for yourself removes a message from only your chat history; the other person still sees it.
- Delete for everyone removes a message from both your chat and the recipient's, but only works within 10 minutes of sending.
- When you delete for everyone, the recipient sees a notification saying you deleted a message — they do not see the content.
- On phones and tablets, press and hold the message; on computers, hover over it and click the three dots.
- You cannot delete messages in group chats the same way — group admins have different removal options.
How to delete a message on your phone or tablet
Open Messenger and find the conversation with the message you want to remove. Press and hold the message with your finger until a menu appears. You will see options including "Delete" or "Remove" — the exact wording depends on your phone's operating system and Messenger version.
Tap "Delete for yourself" to remove it from only your view. Tap "Delete for everyone" if you want to remove it from both sides. If more than 10 minutes have passed since you sent the message, the "Delete for everyone" option will not appear — you can only delete for yourself at that point.
How to delete a message on a computer or web browser
Go to Messenger.com or open Messenger in your web browser. Find the conversation and locate the message you want to delete. Hover your mouse over the message until a row of icons appears to the right of it.
Click the three dots (more options menu) on the far right. A dropdown menu will show "Delete" or "Remove for yourself" and "Remove for everyone" — choose whichever you need. Like the phone version, "Remove for everyone" only works within 10 minutes of sending.
What happens when you delete for everyone
When you delete a message for everyone, the other person does not see the message content. Instead, they see a line that says something like "You deleted a message" or "This message was removed." They know you deleted something, but they cannot read what it was.
This 10-minute window is a hard limit. If you wait 11 minutes, the delete-for-everyone option disappears from your menu entirely. At that point, you can only delete it for yourself, which leaves the message visible to the other person.
Deleting messages in group chats
In a group conversation, you can delete messages for yourself the same way — press and hold on a phone, or hover and click the three dots on a computer. However, the "delete for everyone" option does not work in group chats, even within the 10-minute window.
If you are the group admin, you have the option to remove other people's messages from the chat. Regular members can only delete their own messages for themselves. If a message in a group chat is offensive or breaks the group rules, report it to the admin or use the report feature instead of trying to delete it.
Clearing your entire chat history with one person
If you want to remove all messages from a conversation rather than deleting one at a time, you can delete the entire chat. On a phone, press and hold the conversation name in your chat list until a menu appears, then select "Delete." On a computer, right-click the conversation and choose "Delete."
Deleting a conversation removes all messages from your view, but the other person still has their copy of the chat. If you message them again, a new conversation will start. This is different from deleting individual messages — it clears everything at once.
Why you might not see the delete option
If you cannot find the delete option, the most common reason is that more than 10 minutes have passed since you sent the message. Another reason is that you are trying to delete someone else's message in a regular (non-admin) group chat, which is not allowed.
If you are using an older version of Messenger, some deletion features may not be available. Update the app from your phone's app store or use the latest version of Messenger.com in your web browser. If the option still does not appear after updating, try logging out and back in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the other person see that I deleted a message?
If you delete for everyone, they see a notification that you deleted a message, but not the content. If you delete for yourself only, they see the message normally and have no idea you deleted it from your side.
What if I delete a message after 10 minutes?
You can still delete it for yourself, which removes it from your chat history. The other person will continue to see the message on their end. The 10-minute limit only applies to deleting for everyone.
Does deleting a message also delete photos or files I sent?
Yes. When you delete a message that contains a photo, video, file, or link, all of that content is removed along with the message text. The recipient will see the deletion notification instead.
Can I recover a message after I delete it?
No. Once you delete a message for yourself, it is gone from your chat history and cannot be recovered. Messenger does not have an undo feature or a trash folder where deleted messages are stored.
Why does deleting for everyone not work in group chats?
Group chats have different rules because multiple people are involved. Only group admins can remove messages from everyone's view. Regular members can delete messages for themselves only to keep their own chat cleaner.