How to Delete Snapchat Messages & Clear Chats

Do you ever have Snapchat remorse? You know, when you send a spontaneous Snap and instantly regret it? Or when an old chat conversation resurfaces that you‘d rather forget?

It happens to all of us. The good news is you‘re not stuck with your awkward Snaps forever thanks to Snapchat‘s message deletion options.

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll walk you through exactly how to delete Snapchat messages and clear chat histories on iPhone and Android, even after they‘ve been viewed.

I‘m Karen, a social media and tech expert. I‘ve been obsessed with Snapchat since its early days. I even remember when Stories didn‘t exist!

Today I‘m excited to share everything I‘ve learned about managing your Snapchat privacy over the years. With over 293 million daily active Snapchatters, you‘re not alone in wanting more control over your conversations.

By the end of this guide, you‘ll be a pro at deleting Snaps, clearing chats, changing default deletion settings, and more.

Let‘s start exploring the ephemeral world of Snapchat messaging!

Overview: How To Delete on Snapchat

Before we dive in, here‘s a quick overview of the different ways you can delete Snapchat messages and chats:

Delete individual sent Snaps – Open the Snap and tap "Delete."
Clear an entire conversation – Go to chat settings and tap "Clear Conversation."
Clear all conversations – Go to settings and tap "Clear Conversations."
Change default message deletion – Pick a new default delete timing in chat settings.
Unsend received Snaps – Sorry, you can‘t delete anything you received.

Easy right? Now let‘s look at each of these options in more detail.

Deleting Sent Snapchat Messages

Have you ever sent a Snap only to instantly regret it? We‘ve all been there.

Lucky for us, Snapchat lets you delete a Snap you sent, as long as the recipient hasn‘t saved it. Here‘s how:

Step 1: Open the Relevant Chat

Tap the chat icon in the bottom left of the Snapchat camera screen. This will show your message conversations.

Step 2: Press & Hold the Embarrassing Snap

In the conversation, press and hold your finger on the Snap you want to delete. I recommend using a light touch here.

Step 3: Tap "Delete"

This will open a menu. Go ahead and tap on "Delete" to remove the regretful Snap from the chat.

Step 4: Confirm the Deletion

A popup will ask you to confirm that you really want to delete the Snap. Go ahead and tap "Delete" one more time.

Poof, the embarrassing Snap will instantly vanish from the conversation as if you never sent it in the first place! 🙌

However, here is one very important thing to keep in mind:

If the recipient has already saved the Snap you want to delete, removing it on your end will not delete it from their Memories.

In other words, your deletion powers only work on unsaved Snaps.

So if you send something super embarrassing and the recipient saves it right away, deleting it later unfortunately won‘t undo their copy. Always think twice before hitting send!

Clearing Snapchat Conversations

Deleting individual Snaps is useful for those regrettable one-off messages. But what if you want to wipe an entire conversation with another user?

Maybe it‘s an old friend you‘ve lost touch with, or a date that went badly. For whatever reason, Snapchat lets you fully clear chat histories.

Here‘s how to delete an entire conversation on iPhone or Android:

Step 1: Open the Chat

Tap the chat icon and select the conversation you want to erase.

Step 2: Tap the Username

At the top of the screen, tap on the username of the person you‘re chatting with. This opens your chat settings.

Step 3: Tap "Clear Conversation"

Scroll down the settings menu and tap the "Clear Conversation" option at the bottom.

Step 4: Confirm Clearing the Chat

A popup will ask if you‘re sure you want to clear the conversation. Tap "Clear" and the entire chat history will vanish!

This is great for permanently deleting old or unwanted conversations. However, the same limitations apply:

If any of your Snaps were saved by the recipient, clearing the chat won‘t delete those from their Memories. So use with caution.

Pro Tip: You can also access the "Clear Conversation" option by long-pressing the chat itself. Try both ways and see which you prefer!

Clearing All Chats at Once

What if you want to delete your message history across all Snapchat conversations? Maybe you‘re in a relationship and want to remove evidence or just feel like a clean slate.

Lucky for us, Snapchat lets you clear all chats in just a few taps. Here‘s how:

Step 1: Open Your Profile

From the Snapchat camera, tap your profile icon in the top left corner.

Step 2: Go to Settings

In your profile screen, tap the gear icon to open your Snapchat settings.

Step 3: Tap "Clear Conversations"

In settings, scroll down and tap the "Clear Conversations" option.

Step 4: Confirm Clearing All Chats

One last popup will ask if you‘re sure. Tap "Clear All" and snap, every conversation will instantly vanish!

It‘s the nuclear option for wiping your Snapchat slate clean. Although as we‘ve learned, it won‘t delete any Snaps saved in your friends‘ Memories.

Use this power wisely and with caution!

Changing Default Message Deletion

By default, Snapchat messages delete automatically after they are viewed once by the recipient. But did you know you can change this setting?

You have options to make your Snaps disappear more quickly or remain visible indefinitely until manually deleted. Here‘s how to update your message settings:

Step 1: Open Chat Settings

In a conversation, tap the username to open settings.

Step 2: Tap "Delete Chats"

Scroll down and tap the "Delete Chats" option.

Step 3: Select a New Default

You can set messages to delete "After Viewing" (default), "24 Hours After Viewing", or "Never". Pick what you prefer!

Your selection will now become the new default delete setting for all your outgoing Snaps. Don‘t worry, you can still manually delete individual messages earlier than your default time if you choose.

This is great for controlling how long your Snaps stick around. The 24 hour option is nice if you want recipients to have a little more time to view and screenshot.

And going with the "Never" option is perfect if you want full control to manually delete each Snap only when you‘re ready.

So get in there and find the default deletion timing that fits your preferences!

Can You Recover Deleted Snapchat Messages?

I hate to say it, but once you delete a Snapchat message or conversation, it‘s gone for good.

Even if you cleared a chat by accident and lost important memories, there is simply no way to retrieve deleted Snapchat content.

Why not? Because Snapchat messages are deleted from their servers as soon as you remove them. They don‘t store any type of backup or archive.

That means the only way a deleted Snap could be recovered is if the recipient screenshotted it before it disappeared. But you‘d have no way to access their screenshot after deleting the message on your end.

The ephemeral secret-sharing nature of Snapchat means embraces the fact that nothing lasts forever. While that‘s fun, it also means you need to be 100% sure before deleting anything important!

Snapchat Deletion FAQs

Let‘s wrap up with answers to some frequently asked questions about removing Snapchat messages and chats:

Can you delete messages that someone else sent you?

Nope, you can only delete Snaps and chats that you sent yourself. There is no way to remove anything from the sender‘s side.

Do deleted Snaps say "deleted" or notify the recipient?

No, deleted Snaps simply disappear from the conversation as if they never existed. There‘s no notification or record that a message was removed.

Can someone see if you delete a message on Snapchat?

No, there is no way for the recipient to know if a specific Snap they received was deleted after sending. It will just magically vanish.

Is there any way to recover a deleted Snapchat message?

Unfortunately no. Once deleted, Snapchat messages are gone for good without any backup or archive.

Do cleared Snapchat conversations reappear?

Nope, clearing a conversation permanently deletes the entire message history. It will not reappear unless your pal saved Snapchat Memories.

Can you delete Snapchat accounts?

You can delete your Snapchat account entirely, which will remove all your Snaps, stories, conversations, etc. But you can‘t delete or remove someone else‘s account.

Can you delete Snapchat messages after 24 hours?

By default, you can only delete messages before they are viewed. But you can change your settings to allow deleting Snaps within 24 hours after they‘ve been opened.

I hope these FAQs cleared up some common questions around deleting Snapchat messages and chats!

Parting Words

There you have it – everything you could possibly need to know about deleting Snapchat messages and conversations on iPhone and Android!

To summarize:

You can delete individual sent Snaps, clear whole conversations, or wipe all chats at once.
Deletions only impact your side – saved Snaps stay in recipients‘ Memories.
Once you delete something, it‘s gone forever with no recovery options.
You can change default deletion timing in Chat Settings.
And you sadly can‘t unsend anything you receive from others.

I hope this guide empowered you to use Snapchat‘s deletion options for greater privacy. Just be wise in what you choose to send in the first place!

Thanks for reading all the way to end. Now get out there and start Snapping like the message will disappear! Because well…it will.