How to Delete Texts: What You Can and Can’t Do in 2025

Deleting text messages, whether from your phone, computer, or messaging app, is often necessary for maintaining privacy, decluttering your device, or simply freeing up space. While the process is relatively simple, there are some things you should know about deleting texts in 2025. This guide will explain how to delete texts on various devices and platforms, what you can and can’t do, and any important limitations to be aware of.

Can You Delete Texts?

Yes, you can delete text messages from your phone or device, but how it works varies depending on the device or messaging platform you’re using. Deleting a message only removes it from your device it does not necessarily erase the message from the recipient’s device or from cloud backups.

What You Can Do:

• Delete individual messages or entire conversations: You can delete one message or an entire thread. 
• Delete texts on multiple devices: If your texts are synced across devices (like with iCloud or Google Drive), deleting a message on one device may delete it across all. 
• Delete messages on third-party messaging apps: Most messaging apps, including WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, allow you to delete texts for both you and the recipient.
  

What You Can’t Do:

• Delete messages from the recipient’s device: Deleting a message from your phone does not remove it from the person you sent it to, unless the messaging app allows you to delete it for everyone. 
• Undo a deletion: Once deleted, messages are generally not recoverable unless you’ve backed them up. 
• Delete texts from cloud backups: If your messages are backed up to the cloud, they may remain accessible through backup services unless you delete the backup itself.
  

How to Delete Texts on iPhone

Deleting texts on an iPhone is a simple process. Follow these steps to remove individual messages or entire conversations:

Delete a Single Text Message:

1. Open the Messages app. 
2. Find the conversation containing the message you want to delete. 
3. Tap and hold the message you want to delete. 
4. Select More… from the options that appear. 
5. Tap the trash icon at the bottom-left corner of the screen.
   

Delete an Entire Conversation:

1. Open the Messages app. 
2. Find the conversation you want to delete. 
3. Swipe left on the conversation. 
4. Tap the Delete button.
   

You can also go to Settings > Messages and turn off message syncing to ensure old messages are removed from iCloud.

How to Delete Texts on Android

Android devices allow you to delete text messages quickly. Here’s how to do it:

Delete a Single Text Message:

1. Open the Messages app. 
2. Select the conversation with the message you want to delete. 
3. Tap and hold the message you want to delete. 
4. Tap the trash icon that appears at the top of the screen.
   

Delete an Entire Conversation:

1. Open the Messages app. 
2. Find the conversation you want to delete. 
3. Tap and hold the conversation thread. 
4. Tap the Delete icon that appears at the top.
   

Android also offers the option to automatically delete older messages under Settings > Messages > Delete old messages.

How to Delete Texts on Messaging Apps

Most third-party messaging apps, like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Signal, offer the option to delete messages or entire conversations. However, some apps let you delete messages for everyone, while others only delete them from your own device.

WhatsApp:

1. Open the WhatsApp app. 
2. Open the chat containing the message you want to delete. 
3. Tap and hold the message. 
4. Tap Delete > Delete for Me to remove it from your device, or Delete for Everyone to remove it from both your device and the recipient’s device.
   

Facebook Messenger:

1. Open the Messenger app. 
2. Open the conversation containing the message you want to delete. 
3. Tap and hold the message. 
4. Select Remove > Remove for You to delete it from your device, or Remove for Everyone to delete it from the conversation entirely.
   

Signal:

1. Open the Signal app. 
2. Select the conversation containing the message. 
3. Tap and hold the message. 
4. Tap Delete > Delete for Everyone to remove the message from both devices.
   

How to Delete Texts on Computer

If you use a computer to send or receive texts, you may want to delete messages from your desktop as well. Here’s how to do it on different platforms:

Using iMessage on Mac:

1. Open the Messages app on your Mac. 
2. Select the conversation you want to delete. 
3. Right-click on the message or conversation and select Delete. 
4. Confirm the deletion by clicking Delete again.
   

Using Android Messages on Web:

1. Open Messages for Web on your computer (messages.google.com/web). 
2. Select the conversation containing the message you want to delete. 
3. Hover over the message and click the three dots. 
4. Select Delete.
   

Using Facebook Messenger on Web:

1. Go to Messenger.com or open Facebook Messenger in a browser. 
2. Open the conversation containing the message. 
3. Hover over the message, click the three dots, and select Remove.
   

Can You Delete Texts from Google or iCloud Backup?

While you can delete messages from your phone or app, they may still be backed up to Google or iCloud. To ensure the messages are deleted from your backup, you must delete the backup itself:

• For iCloud: Go to Settings > iCloud > Manage Storage > Backups and delete the backup containing the messages. 
• For Google: Visit Google Drive, go to Backups, and delete the backup containing your messages.
  

However, keep in mind that this can affect other data backed up to the cloud.

Will Messaging Apps Let You Delete Texts Differently?

As of 2025, most messaging apps allow users to delete messages, but the features vary:

• WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger: Allow you to delete messages for both you and the recipient. 
• Signal and Telegram: Offer deletion features that remove messages for everyone, even after they’ve been sent. 
• SMS (Text Messages): Generally only allow deletion from your device, not the recipient’s.
  

FAQs About Deleting Texts

Can I delete a message on my phone and have it deleted from the recipient’s device?

It depends on the app. For example, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger allow you to delete messages from both your and the recipient’s devices, but regular SMS texts can only be deleted from your own phone.

Can I recover a deleted text message?

Once a text message is deleted from your device and not backed up, it cannot be recovered. However, if you have backups enabled (iCloud or Google), you may be able to restore deleted messages.

Can I delete multiple messages at once on my phone?

Most devices allow you to delete multiple messages or an entire conversation at once, but you may need to delete messages one by one if your device doesn’t support multi-message deletion.

How do I prevent deleted texts from reappearing?

Ensure that cloud backups are removed or not restored when deleting texts. For iPhone, delete backups from iCloud, and for Android, ensure Google Drive backups are deleted.

Will deleting a message on one device remove it from others?

It depends on the platform. With iMessage and Google Messages, deleting a message may remove it across all synced devices. With other apps, you’ll need to delete the message separately from each device.