Delete a message you sent to one person

Open Facebook and go to your inbox. Click the conversation with the person whose message you want to delete. Find the message you want to remove, hover your mouse over it, and click the three dots that appear on the right side of that message.

A menu will pop up. Click "Remove" — this deletes the message from your inbox only. The other person will still see it on their end unless you use the "Unsend" option instead, which removes it from both sides of the conversation. If you want the other person to not see the message at all, click "Unsend" instead of "Remove".

Facebook gives you a time window to unsend messages. On most accounts, you can unsend a message within about 10 minutes of sending it. After that window closes, you can only remove it from your own inbox, not theirs.

Key Takeaways

  • "Remove" deletes a message from your inbox only, while the other person still sees it in their conversation with you.
  • "Unsend" removes the message from both your inbox and the other person's inbox, but only works within about 10 minutes of sending.
  • You can delete messages from group chats the same way — hover, click the three dots, and choose remove or unsend.
  • Deleting a message does not delete the entire conversation; only that single message disappears.
  • On mobile, press and hold the message instead of hovering to see the delete options.

Delete messages from a group chat

Group messages work the same way as one-on-one messages. Open the group conversation, find the message you want to delete, and hover over it (or press and hold on mobile). Click the three dots and choose "Remove" to delete it from your view, or "Unsend" to remove it from everyone's view within the time limit.

Keep in mind that in a group chat, unsending a message removes it from all group members' inboxes, not just yours. This is useful if you sent something by mistake to multiple people at once.

Delete an entire conversation

If you want to remove a whole conversation instead of single messages, go to your inbox and find the conversation you want to delete. Right-click on it (or press and hold on mobile) and select "Delete". This removes the entire thread from your inbox.

Deleting a conversation does not unsend the messages — the other person will still have the conversation in their inbox. You are only removing it from your own view. If the person messages you again, the conversation will reappear in your inbox.

Delete messages on the Facebook mobile app

On iPhone or Android, open the Facebook app and tap the Messenger icon (the speech bubble at the bottom of the screen). Find the conversation containing the message you want to delete. Press and hold your finger on the message until a menu appears with options.

Tap "Remove" to delete it from your inbox only, or "Unsend" to remove it from both inboxes if you are within the time limit. The process is identical to the desktop version — the only difference is using your finger instead of a mouse.

What happens when you delete or unsend a message

When you remove a message, it disappears from your inbox but stays in the other person's. They can still see it, read it, and take screenshots of it. Removing a message is for your own organization, not for privacy.

When you unsend a message, it vanishes from both inboxes. The other person will see a notification that says "You unsent a message" or similar language, depending on their Facebook version. This tells them you removed something, even though they cannot see what it was. Unsending works best when you catch a typo or send something to the wrong person within the first few minutes.

Neither action deletes the message from Facebook's servers permanently. If Facebook receives a legal request, they may still have access to deleted messages. For everyday purposes, though, the message is gone from both of your views.

Recover a message you accidentally deleted

Facebook does not have an "undo" button for deleted messages. Once you remove or unsend a message, you cannot get it back through Facebook itself. Your only option is to type the message again and send it.

If you unsent a message and the other person saw the notification, you can explain what happened by sending a new message. If you removed a message from your own inbox by mistake, you can ask the other person to read it back to you or take a screenshot if they still have it.

Troubleshooting: Messages not deleting

If the three-dot menu does not appear when you hover over a message, try refreshing the page or closing and reopening Facebook. Sometimes the interface needs to reload to show the delete option.

On mobile, make sure you are pressing and holding long enough — a quick tap will not bring up the menu. If it still does not work, close the Messenger app completely and open it again. Very old messages sometimes have limited options, so extremely old conversations may not let you unsend, only remove.

If you are using Facebook in a web browser, make sure you are using a supported browser like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge. Some older browsers do not display all Facebook features correctly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the other person see that I deleted a message?

If you unsend a message, they will see a notification saying you unsent it, but they will not see the content. If you only remove it from your inbox, they see nothing — the message stays in their conversation as if nothing happened.

How long do I have to unsend a message?

You have roughly 10 minutes from the time you send a message to unsend it. After that window closes, you can only remove it from your own inbox. The exact time limit may vary slightly depending on your account and Facebook version.

Does deleting a message delete the whole conversation?

No. Deleting a single message removes only that message. The conversation stays in your inbox with all other messages intact. To remove the entire conversation, you must delete the thread separately.

What if I unsend a message but the other person already took a screenshot?

Unsending removes the message from Facebook, but it does not remove screenshots the other person took. If someone captured the message before you unsent it, they still have a copy. Unsending only works on messages that are still in Facebook's system.

Can I delete messages on Facebook Messenger without opening the main app?

Yes. The Facebook Messenger app (or the Messenger website at messenger.com) has the same delete and unsend features as the main Facebook app. The process is identical — find the message, press and hold or hover, and choose your option.