How to delete messages on Signal from your devices and on others' devices (2024)

  • You can delete messages you've sent on Signal, but in most cases, you'll only be able to delete it from your own devices.
  • If you try to delete a message you sent on Signal within the last three hours, you may be able to delete it everywhere, but you'll need to be using the iPhone app or the latest beta version of the Android app.
  • To delete a message from the Signal mobile app, tap and hold your finger on it; on the desktop version, click the three dots next to it.

No matter what messaging app you use, it's only a matter of time before you inevitably send a message you'd like to delete. Luckily, Signal lets you do just that.

In most cases, deleting a message on Signal will only remove it from your device — anyone else in the chat with you will still see it. This is useful if you know your phone or laptop is about to be taken, and you need to erase something classified or sensitive.

That said, if you're using the iPhone or beta Android version of Signal, if you try to delete a message within three hours of when it was sent, Signal can attempt to delete it from every device that received it. This might not work though, since the recipient's device might not be turned on when the delete request is made.

The bottom line is you can always delete messages from your own device, but deleting it from anyone else's isn't guaranteed.

How to delete messages on Signal on your phone

The steps to delete a message on iPhone and Android devices are the same.

1. Start the Signal app and find the message you want to delete.

2. Tap and hold the message until you see a toolbar appear. On iPhones, it'll be at the bottom of the screen, but look for it at the top of the screen on Androids.

How to delete messages on Signal from your devices and on others' devices (1)

Dave Johnson/Business Insider

3. If you want to select multiple images, tap the selection icon, which looks like a bulleted list, and then select all the messages you want to delete.

4. Tap the Delete icon — it looks like a trashcan.

5. In the pop-up window that appears, choose where you want to delete the message. Depending on how long it's been since you sent the message, you might see both "Delete for Me" and "Delete for Everyone" options, or more likely, only "Delete for Me."

How to delete messages on Signal from your devices and on others' devices (2)

Dave Johnson/Business Insider

On Android, the ability to delete messages for all users is in beta, and so you might not see this option even if it's been less than three hours. Instead of being able to choose where to delete it, your Signal app may only warn you that you're about to permanently delete the message from your own device.

How to delete messages on Signal on your desktop

1. Start the Signal app and find the message you want to delete.

2. Click the three dots beside the message you want to remove and, in the pop-up menu, click "Delete Message."

How to delete messages on Signal from your devices and on others' devices (3)

Dave Johnson/Business Insider

3. In the confirmation window, click "Delete" to confirm you really want to do this.

You won't get the option to delete the message for everyone — on the desktop version of Signal, you can only delete messages from your own devices.

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Dave Johnson

Freelance Writer

Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.

How to delete messages on Signal from your devices and on others' devices (2024)

FAQs

How to delete messages on Signal from your devices and on others' devices? ›

Lastly, If you shared your Signal account with any other people, they will no longer be able to see your messages or contact you through the app. This includes any group chats or conversations that you may have had with them, which will be deleted along with your account.

How do I Delete a Signal conversation on both sides? ›

To delete messages for everyone in the chat:
  1. Open the chat.
  2. On mobile: Tap and hold on a message that you have sent within the past 3 hours. Tap delete. .
  3. On desktop: Hover to the inside of the message bubble that you have sent within the past 3 hours. Select more. .
  4. Select Delete for everyone.

Does deleting Signal account Delete messages for everyone? ›

Lastly, If you shared your Signal account with any other people, they will no longer be able to see your messages or contact you through the app. This includes any group chats or conversations that you may have had with them, which will be deleted along with your account.

How do you Delete a conversation on both messengers? ›

Open the Facebook Messenger app on your phone or desktop. Open a conversation with messages you'd like to delete. Press and hold on a message, or select the three dots menu icon on desktop. Select “remove” next to the message.

Does clear conversation Delete both sides? ›

Yes, if you delete a message, it will remove it from both users' accounts.

Do I messages delete on all devices? ›

Messages in iCloud are updated automatically, so you always have the same view everywhere you use iMessage. When you delete a message, photo, or conversation on one device, it's removed from all of your devices. And since all of your attachments are stored in iCloud, you can save space on your device.”

Can you make messages disappear on Signal? ›

Launch the app and open the chat where you want to use this feature. Tap on the contact's name to access the chat settings. In this menu, you'll find the toggle for Disappearing Messages. Tap once on the toggle to turn it on for the particular chat.

Can you tell if someone deleted you on Signal? ›

Signal does not tell you if you are being blocked by someone else. The person who has blocked you will never see this message. If a person unblocks you, messages are not resent. They will never see information that you sent while you are blocked.

What happens when I Delete all messages on Signal? ›

In most cases, deleting a message on Signal will only remove it from your device — anyone else in the chat with you will still see it. This is useful if you know your phone or laptop is about to be taken, and you need to erase something classified or sensitive.

Does uninstalling Signal Delete messages? ›

Deleting your Signal account will delete all the data associated with it as well. This includes all the chat messages, media, contacts, and associated data.

How do I permanently delete normal messages? ›

Touch and hold each conversation that you want to archive or delete.
  1. Archive: To put the selected conversations into your archives, tap Archive. . ...
  2. Mark all as read: Tap More. Mark all as read.
  3. Delete: To delete the selected conversations from Messages, tap Delete. .

When you delete messages on iPhone does it delete for the other person? ›

Deleting messages changes only your own Messages conversations, not those of your recipients. Tip: Use Undo Send to retract a message you sent accidentally.

How do I delete messages from storage? ›

Here's what to do if you're using an Android. Go to your Messages app and press down on a message or conversation until you see a checkmark and the word Delete.

Does vanish mode delete messages on both sides? ›

Does Vanish Mode Delete Messages for Everyone? Yes, Instagram Vanish mode deletes messages for both participants in a chat. If you activated the feature or only accepted it, your messages in a Vanish Mode conversation will be deleted. Likewise, any message you send or receive will be removed.

How to delete all messages on Messenger from both sides without them knowing? ›

Unfortunately, there's no way to hide that note. If you delete a message, the recipient will know you did that. You can always delete the 'You unsent a message' note from your Messenger app.

Does blocking someone on Messenger delete messages? ›

Your previous messages between yourself and the person you're blocking won't be deleted, so you have to manually delete those messages if you don't want them.

What is the difference between clear messages and delete chat? ›

Deleting the WhatsApp messages means deleting them entirely from the WhatsApp log book. On the other hand, Clear WhatsApp chats mean you are clearing them from your WhatsApp board only. You can restore the backup messages when you log in to the new device, provided that you have only cleared them and not deleted them.

Does clear conversation delete everything? ›

Please Note: Clearing a conversation will not delete any saved or sent content.

Can you delete Imessages from both devices? ›

Unfortunately, you cannot delete a message from both your and the recipient's iPhone once it is sent using the default iMessage or SMS app. However, some third-party apps like WhatsApp or Telegram allow you to delete messages from both sides within a specific time frame.

How do I delete messages from my iPad but not other devices? ›

Turn off iCloud Messages on that device, sign out of Messages, then delete the messages you have on that device. You would probably want to make sure that nothing else is turned on in iCloud either, since it would take anything from your iCloud account you have on any other devices, like Contacts, Calendar, etc.

Do deleted messages stay on phone? ›

However, just because you erase texts on Apple and Android products doesn't mean they're gone for good, according to an expert on the Apple Support Community and Business Insider. They will be hidden, but they may still be saved in system data or elsewhere with your cellphone carrier.

How do I hide a conversation on Signal? ›

To archive
  1. Open Signal to view your chat list.
  2. Tap on the chat and slowly swipe to the left.
  3. Select. Archive.

How long does Signal keep chat history? ›

In Signal, tap your profile. > Data and Storage > Manage storage. Select Keep messages. Select Forever, 1 year, 6 months, or 30 days.

Are Signal messages stored on my phone? ›

Signal messages, pictures, files, and other contents are stored locally on your device. These contents are readable by the open source Signal clients. Because everything in Signal is end-to-end encrypted, the Signal service does not have access to any of this data. > Chats > Chat backups).

What do people see when you delete Signal? ›

When you delete your Signal account, all of your data is deleted from Signal's servers, including your contacts, messages, and profile information. This means that your contacts will no longer be able to see your Signal profile, including your phone number, name, and profile picture.

Do photos on Signal disappear? ›

Use Signal Android or Signal iOS to send individual photos and videos that are automatically removed from a conversation thread after they have been viewed.

Can police see Signal messages? ›

A recently discovered FBI training document shows that US law enforcement can gain limited access to the content of encrypted messages from secure messaging services like iMessage, Line, and WhatsApp, but not to messages sent via Signal, Telegram, Threema, Viber, WeChat, or Wickr.

Why can't I delete message for all? ›

The Delete for everyone feature works for the sent messages only. Meaning, you can only unsend messages that you have sent and not for somebody else. For instance, if you are a group admin and someone sends an inappropriate message, you cannot delete it using the Delete for everyone feature.

How do I delete old messages in bulk? ›

How to Mass Delete Emails on Gmail
  1. Log in to your mail account.
  2. Navigate to the Inbox folder.
  3. Click the top checkbox.
  4. Click the “Select all [number] conversations in Inbox” option.
  5. Click the Delete button.
May 22, 2023

Can I delete normal messages for everyone? ›

Open the chat. Tap and hold on a message that you have sent within the past 3 hours. Select Delete for everyone.

Where do deleted Imessages go? ›

All of your deleted text messages can be found in the Messages app. To find your trashed messages, open Messages and tap the Filters option in the top left of your text threads. Here you can filter your text messages by known senders, unread messages and more. However, the option we want is Recently Deleted.

Can you still see deleted messages on iPhone? ›

You can restore messages you deleted for up to 30 days. In the Messages conversation list, do one of the following: Tap Edit in the top-left corner, then tap Show Recently Deleted. Tap Filters in the top-left corner, then tap Recently Deleted.

Are iPhone messages stored on iCloud? ›

When you set up iCloud for Messages, your messages are stored in the cloud instead of locally on your device. You can see them on any device that's set up for iCloud and Messages, including your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac.

Does clearing conversation open the message? ›

The conversation will only delete on your side. Your name will still be in their home feed, and the sender will not receive any 'notifications'… BUT it will appear that you opened the chat, despite not actually reading the message.

How do you Delete someone's Signal? ›

To delete a contact, open the conversation window, click on the horizontal three dots present in the top right corner, and choose 'Delete'. This way, the contact will disappear from the contacts list as long as you don't get a new message from them.

Can deleted Signal messages be recovered? ›

On the new phone, install Signal select Transfer or restore account, select restore from backup, and enter your 30-digit passphrase to restore before submitting your phone number for registration.

How do you clear a conversation on messages? ›

Touch and hold each conversation that you want to archive or delete.
  1. Archive: To put the selected conversations into your archives, tap Archive. . ...
  2. Mark all as read: Tap More. Mark all as read.
  3. Delete: To delete the selected conversations from Messages, tap Delete. .

What happens when you delete someone from Signal? ›

Remove a contact from your Signal contact list. > select Delete > select Delete in the alert to confirm. This removes your contact from appearing in the left pane. You can still receive messages or calls from this contact.

Can you delete a whole conversation on Signal? ›

To delete chats:

Go to the chat list. Tap and hold on a chat. Tap to select any other chats. Select Delete to confirm.

Can someone see my Signal messages? ›

Signal is designed to never collect or store any sensitive information. Signal messages and calls cannot be accessed by us or other third parties because they are always end-to-end encrypted, private, and secure.

Can police read Signal messages? ›

A recently discovered FBI training document shows that US law enforcement can gain limited access to the content of encrypted messages from secure messaging services like iMessage, Line, and WhatsApp, but not to messages sent via Signal, Telegram, Threema, Viber, WeChat, or Wickr.

Does uninstalling Signal delete messages? ›

Deleting your Signal account will delete all the data associated with it as well. This includes all the chat messages, media, contacts, and associated data.

Where are Signal messages stored? ›

Where Are Signal Messages Stored on iPhone and Android, All messages you send on Signal are stored locally on your device. Signal doesn't have any access to your messages or any data you send through the app. Texts you send exist on Signal's servers only while in transit, and they are end-to-end encrypted.

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