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Clear up space by deleting chats, messages, and media
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Is WhatsApp taking up an inordinate amount of space on your phone? Do you have too many chats cluttering up your chats tab? Do you want to clear the media items you received from WhatsApp? There are numerous ways to manage your messages, chats, and data on WhatsApp. You can delete individual messages or clear entire chats. You can also delete media items sent via chat. This wikiHow article teaches you how to delete your messages, chats, items, and data for WhatsApp on iPhone, Android, and desktop computer.
A Quick Guide to Clearing WhatsApp Data
- Open the Settings menu on WhatsApp.
- Tap Storage and data .
- Tap Manage storage .
- Select a chat.
- Tap and hold an item you want to delete.
- Select additional items you want to delete.
- Tap Delete.
Steps
-
Delete an individual message. If you just want to delete an individual message on your iPhone, use the following steps to do so:
- Open WhatsApp and tap the Chats tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the chat with the message you want to delete.
- Tap and hold the message you want to delete.
- Tap Delete .
- Tap Delete for Everyone
or Delete for Me
.
- You can only delete messages for everyone that you sent.
-
Clear an individual or group chat. This will clear all messages from a chat but leave the chat active in the Chats tab. Use the following steps to clear a chat: [1] X Research source
- Open WhatsApp and tap the Chats tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Swipe right on the chat you want to clear.
- Tap More .
- Tap Clear all messages .
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Delete an individual chat. This will clear all messages from a chat and delete it from the Chats tab. Once you delete a chat, you cannot recover it unless you back up your chats and data first. Use the following steps to delete an individual chat:
- Open WhatsApp and tap the Chats tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Swipe right on the chat you want to delete.
- Tap More .
- Tap Delete Chat .
- Tap Delete Chat again to confirm.
-
Delete a group chat. In order to delete a group chat, you must first leave the group chat. Once a chat is deleted, you cannot recover it unless you back up your chats and data first. Use the following steps to delete a group chat: [2] X Research source
- Open WhatsApp and tap the Chats tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Swipe right on the chat you want to clear.
- Tap More .
- Tap Exit Group .
- Tap Exit Group again to confirm.
- Swipe right on the group chat.
- Tap Delete Group .
- Tap Delete Group again to confirm.
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Review and delete items from a chat. You can review photos, videos, documents, and media items sent via a chat on WhatsApp and delete specific media items. You can also choose to delete all items or all but the items you have starred. Use the following steps to review and delete items from a chat or channel:
- Open WhatsApp.
- Tap the Settings tab.
- Tap Storage and data .
- Tap Manage storage .
- Select a chat or channel.
- Tap and hold an item you want to delete.
- Tap additional items or tap Select all to select all items.
- Tap the icon that resembles a trash can at the top.
- Tap Delete all or Delete all except starred .
- Tap Delete items or Delete items and any copies .
-
Clear all chats. This will leave the chats in the Chats tab, but clears all messages. Clearing all chats will delete all messages, attachments, photos, and media sent to you via a chat. All media items will also be deleted from your phone storage and camera roll. You may want to back up your chats and data before clearing everything. Use the following steps to clear all chats:
- Open WhatsApp.
- Tap the Settings tab.
- Tap Chats .
- Tap Clear all chats .
- Enter your phone number.
- Tap Clear all chats again to confirm.
-
Delete all chats. This will clear all chats from your chats list and delete all messages and attachments. Group chats will still be visible in the Chats tab unless you exit them first. All photos and media items sent will also be deleted from your phone. Once a chat is deleted, it cannot be recovered unless you back up your chats and data first. Use the following steps to delete all chats:
- Open WhatsApp.
- Tap the Settings tab.
- Tap Chats .
- Tap Delete all chats .
- Enter your phone number.
- Tap Delete all chats again to confirm.
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Clear the WhatsApp cache. To clear the cache of any app on an iPhone, you need to delete the app and reinstall it. To do so, tap and hold the WhatsApp icon on your Home screen. Then tap Remove app . Tap Delete App to confirm. Then, download and install WhatsApp again from the App Store. This will delete all your chats and WhatsApp data. It’s recommended that you back up your chats and data before clearing your cache.
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-
Delete an individual message. If you want to delete a single message from a chat, use the following steps to do so:
- Open WhatsApp and tap the Chats tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the chat with the message you want to delete.
- Tap and hold the message you want to delete.
- Tap the icon that resembles a trash can at the top of the screen.
- Tap Delete for Everyone
or Delete for Me
.
- You can only delete messages for everyone that you sent.
-
Clear an individual or group chat. This will delete all messages from a chat but leave the chat active in the Chats tab. Use the following steps to clear a chat:
- Open WhatsApp and tap the Chats tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the chat you want to clear.
- Tap the icon with three dots ( â‹® ) in the upper-right corner.
- Tap More .
- Tap Clear Chat .
- Tap Clear chat again to confirm.
-
Delete an individual chat. This will clear all messages and delete the chat from your Chats tab. Once a chat is deleted, it cannot be recovered unless you back up your chats and data first. Use the following steps to delete an individual chat:
- Open WhatsApp and tap the Chats tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap and hold the chat you want to delete.
- Tap the icon that resembles a trash can at the top of the screen.
- Tap Delete Chat .
-
Delete a group chat. If you want to delete a group chat, you have to leave the group first. Once a chat is deleted, you cannot recover it unless you back up your chats and data first. Use the following steps to delete a group chat:
- Open WhatsApp and tap the Chats tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap and hold the chat you want to delete.
- Tap the icon with three dots ( â‹® ) in the upper-right corner.
- Tap Exit group .
- Tap Exit .
- Tap and hold the group chat you want to delete again.
- Tap the icon that resembles a trash can at the top of the screen.
- Tap Delete group.
-
Review and delete items from a chat. You can review photos, videos, documents, and media items sent via a chat on WhatsApp and delete specific media items. You can also choose to delete all items or all but the items you have starred. Use the following steps to review and delete items from a chat or channel: [3] X Research source
- Open WhatsApp.
- Tap the icon with three dots ( â‹® ) in the upper-right corner.
- Tap Settings .
- Tap Storage and data .
- Tap Manage storage .
- Tap a chat.
- Tap and hold an item to select it
- Tap any additional items or tap Select all .
- Tap the icon that resembles a trashcan at the top of the screen.
- Tap Delete
.
- Additionally, you can select Delete all starred items , or Delete any copies.
-
Clear all chats. This will clear all messages from your chats, but leave your chats active in the Chats tab. You also have the option to delete all photos, videos, and media items from your Gallery. You may want to back up your chats and data before continuing. Use the following steps to clear all your chats:
- Open WhatsApp and tap the Chats tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the icon with three dots ( â‹® ) in the upper-right corner.
- Tap Settings .
- Tap Chats .
- Tap Chat history .
- Tap Clear all chats .
- Check “Also delete media received in chats from the device gallery” (optional).
- Check “Delete starred messages” (optional).
- Tap Clear chats .
-
Delete all chats. This will delete all your messages and chats from the Chats tab. Group chats will still be visible in the Chats tab unless you exit them first. Once a chat is deleted, you cannot recover it unless you back up your chats and data first. Use the following steps to delete all your chats:
- Open WhatsApp and tap the Chats tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the icon with three dots ( â‹® ) in the upper-right corner.
- Tap Settings .
- Tap Chats .
- Tap Chat history .
- Tap Delete all chats .
- Tap Delete chats .
-
Clear the WhatsApp app cache. You can clear the cache and app data of any app using the Settings menu. Use the following steps to do so:
- Swipe down from the top of your screen to open the Quick Access menu.
- Tap the Settings/Gear icon in the upper-right corner.
- Tap Apps .
- Scroll down and tap WhatsApp .
- Tap Storage .
- Tap Clear cache .
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Delete an individual message. If you want to delete a single message from a chat using the WhatsApp desktop application , use the following steps to do so:
- Open the WhatsApp desktop app.
- Click the chat with a message you want to delete.
- Right-click the message.
- Click Delete .
- Select Delete for Me
or Delete for Everyone
.
- You can only delete messages for everyone that you sent.
- Click Delete .
-
Clear an individual or group chat. This will delete all messages in a chat, but leave the chat visible in your chats list. Use the following steps to clear a chat:
- Open the WhatsApp desktop app.
- Right-click a chat you want to clear.
- Click Clear messages .
- Click Clear to confirm.
-
Delete an individual chat. This will delete all messages and remove the chat from your chats list. Once a chat is deleted, it cannot be recovered unless you back up your chats and data first. Use the following steps to delete a chat:
- Open the WhatsApp desktop app.
- Right-click a chat you want to clear.
- Click Delete .
- Click Delete again to confirm.
-
Delete a group chat. To delete a group chat, you must leave the chat first. Once a chat is deleted, it cannot be recovered unless you back up your chats and data first. Use the following steps to delete a group chat:
- Open the WhatsApp desktop app.
- Right-click a chat you want to delete.
- Click Exit chat .
- Click Exit .
- Right-click the chat.
- Click Delete.
- Click Delete again to confirm.
-
Delete items from WhatsApp. Items sent to you on WhatsApp are automatically downloaded to your Pictures, Videos, or Documents folder on your PC or Mac. You can delete those items from your folder by clicking them and then pressing the Delete button. If you don’t want WhatsApp to automatically download files to your computer, use the following steps to disable automatic downloads:
- Open the WhatsApp desktop app.
- Click the menu icon with three dots ( ☰ ) in the upper-right corner.
- Click Settings at the bottom of the menu.
- Click Storage .
- Uncheck the box next to Photo , Video , Audio , and Document .
-
Clear all chats. This will clear all messages in your chats but leave chats visible in your chats list. Use the following steps to clear all chats:
- Open the WhatsApp desktop app.
- Click the menu icon with three dots ( ☰ ) in the upper-right corner.
- Click Settings at the bottom of the menu.
- Click Chats .
- Click Clear all messages .
- Click Clear chats to confirm.
-
Delete all chats. This will delete all chats and remove them from the chats list. Once a chat is deleted, it cannot be recovered unless you back up your chats and data . Use the following steps to delete all your chats:
- Open the WhatsApp desktop app.
- Click the menu icon with three dots ( ☰ ) in the upper-right corner.
- Click Settings at the bottom of the menu.
- Click Chats .
- Click Delete all chats.
- Click Delete all .
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