How To Delete Messages On Messenger From Both Sides – A Detailed Guide

Have you ever sent a message on Messenger that you instantly regretted? Maybe you messaged the wrong person or said something you shouldn‘t have. Don‘t panic – you can delete messages on Messenger from both sides so the other person can‘t see it anymore.

Deleting messages on messaging apps can be confusing. In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll explain exactly how to remove messages from yours and the receiver‘s chat so it‘s permanently deleted on Messenger.

What Does "Delete From Both Sides" Mean on Messenger?

When you delete a message from both sides on Messenger, it removes the message from your chat log and the recipient‘s chat log. So after deletion, neither party will be able to see the message anymore.

Here‘s a quick example:

• You send your friend John a message saying "Hey, sorry I‘m running late!"

• You later realize you meant to send that message to Mike, not John.

• To delete the message from both your chat and John‘s chat, you select the "Unsend" option on Messenger.

• Now the message is permanently removed from both your chat history and John‘s chat history. It‘s like you never sent it!

Deleting from both sides is different than removing a message from just your side of the conversation. If you delete from your side only, the recipient can still see the message in their chat log.

Unsending is the only way to fully delete a Messenger message so no one has access to it anymore.

The Difference Between Unsending and Removing for Yourself

When you want to delete a Messenger message, you‘ll see two options:

• Unsend: Deletes the message from both your chat and the recipient‘s chat. This permanently deletes the message from Messenger.

• Remove for You: Only deletes the message from your side of the conversation. The recipient can still see the message in their chat log.

Always select "Unsend" if you want the message to disappear from both sides. Tapping "Remove for You" will only delete it from your view.

Here‘s a visual example:

• You accidentally send your boss a silly meme.

• You select "Remove for You" to delete it from your chat.

• Your boss can still see the meme you sent them in their Messenger chat log.

• To delete the meme from their view too, you needed to "Unsend" it.

Unsending removes all traces of a message so neither party can access it anymore.

Why Messenger‘s Time Limit for Unsending Is Great

Lots of other messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram only allow you to unsend messages within a short time frame, usually just a few minutes.

But one of Messenger‘s great features is there is no time limit for unsending messages! You can delete a message from both chats anytime, even if it was sent weeks or months ago.

This gives you flexibility in case you change your mind later and decide you do want a message permanently deleted after all.

Let‘s say you sent an awkward message to your crush a month ago. On WhatsApp, you‘d be out of luck – that message is there to stay.

But on Messenger, you could easily tap Unsend today and the old message would vanish from both your chat logs as if it never existed. No time limit!

According to Facebook, this unlimited unsending window makes managing old messages easy while keeping your conversations secure.

Step-by-Step: How To Delete Messenger Messages from Both Sides

Ready to banish an embarrassing message from Messenger forever? Here is the simple 4 step process:

1. Tap and Hold the Message

Open the Messenger app and navigate to the unfortunate message you want erased. Press your finger down on the message bubble and hold for about 3 seconds.

This will bring up a list of options for that specific message, including Reply, Forward, and More.

2. Select "More"

The options that pop up do not immediately include Delete. You first need to tap "More" to expand the list.

Reply and Forward are handy for quoted responses or sharing the message. But you want the More option to ultimately delete.

3. Choose "Remove"

After tapping More, you‘ll see the choices Remove and Copy. Select Remove to get deletion options.

Copying the message will save it to your clipboard. You want Remove to progress towards erasing the message entirely.

4. Tap "Unsend"

Finally, choose Unsend to delete the message from both your chat and the recipient‘s chat forever.

If you accidentally hit Remove for You first, just repeat the steps to select Unsend afterwards.

That‘s all it takes to wipe a Messenger message from existence on both sides!

What If They Saw a Notification Before You Unsent?

If the person you messaged has push notifications enabled, they may catch a quick preview of your message before you delete it.

Messenger notifications display a brief snippet, so it‘s possible they glimpsed it for a second on their lock screen before you tapped Unsend.

But don‘t stress – as soon as you Unsend, that message vanishes from their Messenger app like it was never there at all. They just might have seen a quick preview first.

To avoid this issue, I‘d recommend unsending mistakes right after you make them. This minimizes the chance of previews through notifications.

Deleting a Conversation Doesn‘t Remove it From Both Sides

Here is one important caveat about deleting conversations:

If you delete a conversation from your main messages list, it only removes it from your view – not the recipient‘s!

To delete a conversation from both sides, you‘d need to manually unsend every single message within the thread one by one.

Deleting the whole conversation only wipes it from your perspective. The recipient retains the full conversation in their Messenger app.

So if you need a conversation gone without a trace, unsending each message is the only way to fully wipe it from Messenger.

You Can‘t Tell if Someone Deleted Their Side of the Conversation

Let‘s flip perspectives – what if someone deletes a conversation with you on Messenger?

Unfortunately, you have no way to tell if they deleted their side of the conversation. It will still appear normally in your chat log with them.

The only indication the other person deleted their side would be if their messages mysteriously disappear. Then you‘d know they likely went through unsending their messages one by one.

But if the conversation appears intact from your view, you have no definite way to know if they deleted it from their end. The conversation remains visible to you regardless.

Unsending is the Only Way to Permanently Delete Messenger Messages

The main takeaway here is that unsending is the sole way to delete Messenger messages from both ends permanently.

Removing for yourself or deleting conversations will not remove messages from the recipient‘s view. Those options only delete messages from your own perspective.

So if you really want a disastrous message gone without a trace from all parties, you need to unsend it.

Unsending should be your go-to anytime you need to wipe a Messenger message completely for good. Just be quick before they see a notification!

I hope this comprehensive guide gives you confidence to delete any cringey Messenger mistakes. We‘ve all been there sending a message to the wrong person or group – just unsend asap before it gets awkward!

Let me know if you have any other questions about managing messages on Messenger. I‘m always happy to help explain more about this communication tool I use every day.