How to Delete Instagram Messages (Complete Guide)

Do you want to know how to delete Instagram messages? But don’t know how to do it?

If yes, you’ve landed on the right spot.

With over 400 million active Instagram users, millions of messages get sent on the platform.

Direct message or the DM feature is undoubtedly one of the most popular features of Instagram. 

With DM, you can have one and one conversations with your friends, family, or loved ones.  

At the same time, the app doesn’t have any feature to keep the DM inbox organized. And after a while, you see that your Instagram DM is filled with unnecessary messages and old conversations that clutter the space. 

That’s why it’s important to get rid of unnecessary chat quite often to keep your account organized. 

However, Instagram has no specific delete option to remove all the chats at once. 

So if you are wondering how to delete Instagram messages, then you’ve come to the right place. 

Here in this post, we have shared how to delete chats on Instagram. Moreover, this post will help you understand the aftermath of deleting Instagram messages. 

So without further ado, let’s start reading.

How to Delete Instagram Messages

You can’t delete an entire Instagram message or conversation at once because Instagram doesn’t allow the mass deletion of a conversation from both sides. 

However, you can delete all messages from your side by simply deleting the conversation. Here’s how you can do that: 

Step 1. Open the Instagram app on your device. 

Step 2. Head to the direct messages by tapping on the messenger icon in the upper right corner of your device. 

Step 3. Now tap and hold the chat conversation you’d like to delete entirely. 

Step 4. A menu will appear on your screen; from there, select the Delete option. 

Step 5. Another pop-up menu will appear on your screen, asking whether you’d like to delete the chat permanently. Tap on Yes to confirm the deletion process. 

The above steps will work if you’re using an Android device. If you’re an iPhone user, first select the conversation you want to delete. Then, swipe the chat conversation to the left and tap Delete. 

Also, remember that deleting an entire conversation from your Instagram app won’t delete it from the other user’s (with whom you’ve exchanged the messages) account. 

It will only get deleted from your end. The other person will get no notification or slight idea that you’ve deleted the entire conversation. 

How to Delete Individual Instagram Messages (On Both Sides)

Instagram doesn’t have any specific button or feature to delete an individual message from your and the recipient’s account. 

If you want to delete Instagram messages individually, the only option is to unsent them. You can do so, by following the steps below: 

 Step1. Open the Instagram app and tap on the small messenger icon. 

Step 2. Once you’ve opened the direct message page, find the conversation you’d like to delete and tap on it. 

Step 3. On the conversation screen, hold the individual message you want to delete. 

Step 4. A pop-up screen will appear on the bottom of your device with the options: Reply, Unsend, and More. 

Step 5. Tap on the Unsend option. 

That’s it. That individual message will be removed from the conversation. And it will remove the message on both users’ ends. 

If you want to unsend an Instagram message from a desktop, follow the steps below:

• Open the DM from the browser. 
• Open a conversation. 
• Click on the three-dot menu near the message you want to delete.
• Select Unsend. 

However, unsending a message may delete it from both ends, but it doesn’t delete it from Instagram’s database. 

That means that if somebody decides to report the entire conversation within 14 days after unsending an Individual message, the message will still be included in the report. 

Also, before hitting the unsend button, if the other user has already read your text from a push notification or keeps a screenshot, they’ll realize which message you’ve deleted. 

So, if you’re sending any sensitive information, make sure to think twice before hitting the send button. 

Is There a Quick Way to Delete All Instagram Messages?

There’s no quick delete function available on Instagram. 

The easiest and best way to delete all Instagram messages is to hold the entire conversation and tap delete. 

And iPhone users need to swipe left the conversations to delete them at once. Although, this process won’t delete the messages from the recipient’s end. 

So, to delete messages from both ends, you have to hold each message and press unsend. 

However, there are several third-party apps available that can delete messages quickly on Instagram. 

But, we recommend maintaining safety before using such apps, as they might risk your account’s privacy. 

When You Delete a Conversation on Instagram Does it Get Deleted For The Other Person?

When you delete a conversation on your Instagram account, it won’t get deleted from the other person’s (the recipient) account. 

They’ll still be able to access the conversations on their account without getting a slight idea about the action you took. 

Even if you delete your Instagram account, the conversations you had with the other person will remain stored until the person decides to remove them from their own account. 

The only possible way to delete messages on Instagram from other user’s ends is to delete them one by one, using the Unsend feature. 

When You Block Someone on Instagram, Can They Still See Your Messages?

Blocking someone on Instagram doesn’t delete the messages that have sent to the person. 

The blocked user will still see all the texts you’ve exchanged with them before blocking. The entire conversation with you will stay intact on their Instagram direct message inbox. 

The blocked user can even save the chat by taking screenshots or screen recording them. 

Wrapping Up

Deleting unnecessary messages or old conversations will help you keep your DMs clutter-free. A clean, organized DM inbox will help you manage the conversations better. 

In this post, we’ve shared how to delete Instagram messages. Also, you’ve learned about the consequences you’ll face if you decide to delete them. 

We hope you found this post useful.