Skip to main content

How to delete Snapchat messages

companies advertise on snapchat for super bowl 50 how to use
Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you’ve ever sent a message to someone and wish you could delete it, Snapchat has a feature you’ll like. Yes, it lets you delete Snapchat messages you’ve already sent. Don’t get too excited though, as there are some limitations that can make its usefulness iffy at best. Here’s what you need to know.

Recommended Videos

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

5 minutes

What You Need

  • Smartphone with Snapchat app

How to delete Snapchat messages

Deleting Snapchat messages, like replaying Snaps, is literally a snap.

Step 1: Hold your finger down on the offending message. Then, a menu like the one below will pop up.

Step 2: Tap Delete and then Delete Chat and you are done with your part. This works with one-on-one chats and group chats, too.

how to delete snapchat messages
Image used with permission by copyright holder
snapchat offline data ads mem 2v2
Image used with permission by copyright holder

What happens next

Once your chat message is deleted on your end, that’s not the end of things. Snapchat says that it will try to delete the message from its servers and from your friend’s chat screen, but it doesn’t always work. For example, if your friend has poor internet service when you delete the message, Snapchat may not be able to delete the message from your friend’s side of the conversation until they have better service. This means they may see the message. If they have an older version of Snapchat, your message may be stuck on their screen as well.

Also, it will be obvious something was deleted. This is because a message posts on your side of the chat when you delete a message. Your friend will also get a message that something was deleted. Being sneaky using Snapchat is really hard.

How to delete all the messages

Want to go further than just one message? You can delete the whole conversation, too — sort of.

Step 1: Go to the Friends screen.

Step 2: Hold your finger down on the message thread you want to delete.

Step 3: A menu will pop up. Choose More and then tap Clear Conversation History.

This will remove the conversation from your Friends screen. It won’t delete sent or saved messages, but it’s a good way to declutter your Friends screen so you can find more important conversations more easily.

Alina Bradford
Alina Bradford has been a tech, lifestyle and science writer for more than 20 years. Her work is read by millions each month…
Spotify vs. Pandora: which streaming service should you choose?
spotify vs pandora on iphone

Let's settle a musical debate: which music streaming platform should you use: Spotify or Pandora?

Both services have their unique strengths and weaknesses. Spotify boasts a more extensive music catalog, robust social features for sharing and discovering music with friends, and a more polished user experience across devices.

Read more
The best tablets in 2025: top 8 tablets you can buy now
Disney+ app on the iPad Air 5.

Even the best smartphones still have relatively small screens. After all, they can only get so big before they're no longer practical or pocketable. There are some great folding phones that try to give you the best of both worlds, but these are pricy options and often make compromises you're unwilling to live with. If you're looking for a larger canvas for reading, sketching, gaming, or just about anything else, you're likely much better off going with a tablet. This lets your smartphone keep doing what it does best — being portable, taking great pictures, and offering solid battery life — while giving you an alternative for those times when you need more screen real estate.

However, choosing the right tablet can be tricky. People use tablets in different ways, so there are dozens of options on the market to address these myriad needs. We know how hard it can be to wade through them all and find the one that works best for your use case and budget, so we've done the legwork for you, reviewing dozens of tablets across the entire spectrum to compile a list of the top eight for all walks of life.

Read more
How to change your iPhone call and messaging apps in iOS 18.2
Screenshot showing the iPhone screen where you can change default apps on iOS 18.2.

The upcoming iOS 18.2 release will allow users to change their default calling and messaging apps on their iPhones. In other words, you will no longer need to use Apple’s native apps if you don’t want to. Here are the relatively easy steps to do so.

Read more