How to Delete Messages on Snapchat Using Clear Chats, Even if They Haven’t Been Viewed

One of the things that makes Snapchat an excellent source of social media is the ability to control your privacy and content. Sure, other sites like Facebook and Instagram offer users the ability to selectively post content to their friends and close acquaintances. But Snapchat offers close friends a little more.

With Best Friend’s emojis, a Snapscore, and the ability to limit not only your audience but what your audience can do with your posted content, it’s no wonder why the service is so popular. Loyal Snapchat users find new features and functions all the time, but those who are new to the app may struggle to understand its interface.

That said, social media users around the globe can find an online privacy haven by creating and using Snapchat. For example, you can send a Snap to one person and set it to disappear as soon as they open it, or you can share it with everyone on your friends’ list and let them view it for 24 hours.

For those of you who’ve ever hit the “Send” button and immediately regretted it, this article is for you. Snapchat will let you retract messages before another user ever sees them.

How to Delete a Snapchat Message

Deleting a Snapchat message is super simple. Log into the Snapchat app and do this:

1. Tap the “Chat” icon in the lower-left corner of the app.
   
   
   
2. Select the contact with which the message you’d like to delete is between.
   
   
   
3. Long-Press the message and click “Delete.”
   
   
   
4. Confirm by clicking “Delete” again.
   
   

How to Clear a Snapchat Conversation

You can delete an entire conversation by following these steps:

1. Long-press the contact.
   
2. Click “More” in the pop-up that appears.
   
   
   
3. Click “Clear Conversation.”
   
   
   
4. Confirm by clicking “Clear.”
   
   
   

How to Set Snaps to Automatically Delete

If you’ve sent a snap, you’ll notice the long-press and delete option isn’t available. That’s because, unlike messages, they will automatically delete after a certain time. You can control whether they delete after viewing or after twenty-four hours.

Follow the same instructions as above by long-pressing the contact and clicking ‘More,’ then do this:

1. Click “Delete Chats…”
   
   
   
2. Select “After Viewing.”
   
   
   

Following these steps will set the snaps within that conversation to delete once the recipient has opened and viewed the message.

How to Delete Saved Snapchat Messages

Snapchat’s main feature is that nothing lasts forever. However, the app’s popularity means that sometimes you want to hold onto memories or conversations. So, the developers released the option to save chats. You’ll know these messages are saved because they’ll have a grey background. So, fortunately, your friend can’t save something without you knowing.

Unlike regular Snapchat communications that expire within 24 hours or 30 days, saved messages will last forever. Clearing your conversation should remove any saved chats. But, if you don’t want to clear the entire conversation, do this:

1. Open Snapchat and locate your saved chat.
   
   
   
2. Long-press the message and then tap on “Unsave in Chat.”

Clear All Snapchat Conversations

Some platforms make it incredibly difficult to delete all of your messages at once. Fortunately, Snapchat isn’t one of those platforms. You can easily delete all Snapchat messages with just a few clicks. Here’s how:

1. Open Snapchat and tap on your “profile icon” in the upper left-hand corner.
   
   
   
2. Then tap on the “Settings” cog in the upper right-hand corner.
   
   
   
3. Scroll down and click on “Clear Conversations.”
   
   
   
4. Now, tap on the “X” next to each contact, then confirm in the pop-up window.

It’s important to keep in mind; this will not delete Saved messages.

Recovering Deleted Snapchat Messages

If you’ve accidentally deleted your Snapchat messages, you may wonder if you can recover them later on. Unfortunately, the process isn’t simple.

If you’ve saved the messages, they’ll remain under your contact’s profile. If not, the messaging list will be blank. You can, however, try downloading your data from the Snapchat website:

1. Log in to your account.
   
   
   
2. Click on the option for “My Data. “
   
   
   
3. Click “Submit Request” at the bottom to move forward.
   
   
   

We didn’t get messages based on our tests, but some users state they have, so we’re including it here. Plus, it’s the only option for most circumstances.

There are some third-party paid services that make promises of getting your lost messages back. We haven’t tested these but based on previous experience, you should take caution and research the developers before allowing access to your accounts or paying anything to get your messages back.

Frequently Asked Questions

Snapchat can be a confusing place, and with constant updates and new features, there’s always something to learn. Here are some more answers to your questions about Snapchat’s messaging feature.

If I delete a message that someone has already read, will it also delete the message on their end?

Yes, if you delete a message, it will remove it from both users’ accounts. Fortunately, this function works even if the other user has saved the chat in their message thread (not if they’ve taken a screenshot of it).

I cleared conversations, but my messages are still there. What’s happening?

A common question is, “Why didn’t my messages disappear?” For starters, if you have saved messages in Snapchat, clearing the conversation doesn’t always remove them, but it does remove the contact from your messages list. What you’ll need to do to remove them is go to your messages and delete them individually.

If I delete my account, will it remove my messages?

No. Unfortunately, deleting your account will not remove your message or the snap you sent. It will remove your profile and personal information. Also, once you’ve sent someone a snap, it won’t be deleted until they open it or it expires.

My friend knew that I deleted a message. What happened?

Snapchat does have a feature that lets the recipient know you sent a message and retracted it. As they scroll through their chats with you, a small gray notice will state that you deleted a chat.

If I block someone, will it delete our conversation history?

You might be wondering if your conversation history is cleared when you block another user. If you don’t remove any messages you’ve sent before blocking someone, they can still see what you’ve sent in the past. But, you won’t see their messages or get notifications from them.

If I delete Snapchat, will it delete all messages with another user?

If you’d rather permanently delete your account, we have a full tutorial here to walk you through it. But, if you want to delete your account because you want all of your messages removed from someone else’s view, this won’t work.

Even if you delete your account, you’ll still need to follow the steps above to delete messages before doing so. If you’ve already deleted your Snapchat account, you still have 30 days to reactivate it and remove the messages.

Wrapping Up

Snapchat is one of the most popular social media sites, and its popularity was built on the temporary nature of its content. Now that more and more of the content can be saved permanently, it’s essential to know how to delete an unwanted message. Do you have any tips, experience, or questions about deleting messages on Snapchat? Leave a comment in the section below!