Clearing out your inbox? Worrying about an earlier message? Accidentally pressed ‘send’ before you’re ready? Whatever your reason, follow our step-by-step instructions to learn exactly how to delete messages on Instagram for mobile, tablet, and PC.
For any additional information or further queries, please direct your attention to our FAQs at the end of this article.
Table of Contents
How to delete messages on Instagram (PC)
- Open up your preferred web browser, navigate to the Instagram website, and sign-in to your Instagram profile
- Open up your Instagram Direct Messages by clicking the paper-plane-shaped message icon in the top-right (next to ‘Home’ etc.)
- Next, locate the chat with the message in it you wish to delete (remember: it has to be one of your own messages, not the other person’s/people’s)
- Click on the three horizontal grey dots to the left of the unwanted message
- From the pop-up menu, select ‘Unsend’ (effectively ‘Delete’)
- A message will pop-up explaining to you the consequences of Unsending a message; to confirm deletion of the message, click ‘Unsend’ one last time.
- Repeat as necessary for as many messages as you need to delete. If you wish to delete entire chats, instead, then see the next set of instructions.
How to delete DM chats on Instagram (PC)
- Open up your preferred web browser, navigate to the Instagram website, and sign-in to your Instagram profile
- Open up your Instagram Direct Messages by clicking the paper-plane-shaped message icon in the top-right (next to ‘Home’ etc.)
- Next, locate the chat you wish to delete (remember, deletion is permanent, and none of your messages will be saved or stored anywhere off-app).
- Click on the chat to open it, and then click the (i) ‘information’ icon in the top-right of the window
- Locate and click on ‘Delete Chat’
- A message will pop-up explaining to you the consequences of deleting the chat; to confirm deletion of the chat, click ‘Delete’ one last time
Note: Alternatively, if you don’t want to delete the entire chat, you can move the chat from the ‘Primary’ inbox into the ‘General’ one (effectively archiving it), so that whilst you don’t have to see it as much, it remains intact.
How to delete messages on Instagram (mobile/tablet)
- Open up the Instagram app on your mobile or tablet, and sign into your Instagram account
- Navigate to your Direct Messages by tapping the paper plane-shaped messages icon in the top-right (next to the ‘Post’ and ‘Likes’ icons)
- Now, locate the chat with the message in it you wish to delete (remember: it has to be one of your own messages, not the other person’s/people’s)
- Tap and hold the unwanted message
- From the pop-up menu, select ‘Unsend message’
- If this is the first time you’ve deleted an Instagram message, you’ll be shown a dialogue box and will have to confirm your message deletion with a couple more taps. If it’s not your first time, the message will instantly be ‘Unsent’ (AKA deleted).
- Repeat as necessary for as many messages as you need to delete. If you wish to delete entire chats, instead, then see the next set of instructions
How to delete DM chats on Instagram (mobile/tablet)
- Open up the Instagram app on your mobile or tablet, and sign into your Instagram account
- Navigate to your Direct Messages by tapping the paper plane-shaped messages icon in the top-right (next to the ‘Post’ and ‘Likes’ icons)
- Now, locate the chat you wish to delete
- Tap and hold on the unwanted chat
- From the pop-up menu, select ‘Delete’
- A dialogue box will pop-up asking you if you’re sure you wish to permanently delete the chat, to confirm the deletion, tap ‘Delete’ once more
- Note: Once you’ve confirmed you’ve understood the ramifications of chat deletion once, you’ll not be asked again. Keep this in mind.
And there you have it! Whether you’re looking to delete entire chats or individual messages, and whether you’re on your phone (iOS or Android), tablet, or PC, by simply following our step-by-step guides above, you can delete messages to your heart’s content.
For any additional questions or information, see our FAQs below.
Frequently asked questions
Why would I want to delete messages on Instagram?
There are any number of reasons you might want to delete messages on Instagram.
Probably the most common reason might be that you’re DMing (direct messaging) with a friend or acquaintance, and you’ve suddenly hit ‘Send’ on something you didn’t want to send, or on the wrong message. In such a case, you’ll want to know how to quickly and efficiently delete this message.
Alternatively, you might have received an inappropriate message, which you don’t want to see, and you want to know if you can delete this.
Or, of course, there’s always the possibility that you’re looking to delete entire chats – either because you no longer require them, or no longer want to be a part of them – and for you ‘deleting messages’ means deleting entire chats.
Whatever your reason, you’ve come to the right place. Follow our instructions above to learn exactly how to delete messages on Instagram.
What happens when I delete messages on Instagram?
Whenever you delete a message you’ve accidentally sent in a DM, you remove the message completely from the chat, and no one can now see it. However, it of course cannot work retroactively. As such, if the recipient of the message managed to see it before you deleted it, well… hard luck. There’s little you can do about this!
If, on the other hand, you’re wondering what happens when you delete an entire chat, basically the chat is deleted from your DM lists completely. However, it will not be removed from anyone else.
Can I recover accidentally deleted messages on Instagram?
No, afraid not. Once you’ve chosen to delete a message or a chat, it’s gone from your Instagram profile for good (or from all involved, if you deleted an individual DM message). If, say, you delete a chat, but then that person messages you again in the future, it will appear to you as if the chat has started completely anew, with the most recent message being the first in that chat’s history.
Can I delete other people’s messages on Instagram?
If someone’s sent you something rude or offensive, or just plain annoying, it’s tempting to want to delete that message from your chat with the person. Unfortunately, you can’t.
Only the sender of a message has the power to delete it. However, if you think the message in questions warrants it, you can ‘Report’ the message by hitting the three dots next to it, or tapping and holding it, and selecting ‘Report’ from the options. Follow the on-screen instructions to carry out the report.
Otherwise, your options are either to delete the chat (by following the instructions above) and/or blocking the sender by choosing this option at the same time or manually blocking them on their profile.
