Surely at some point in your life, you have said things that later You have repented. While in real life we cannot erase our actions (but we can redeem ourselves), we can do it through messaging applications, where WhatsApp is the undisputed king by number of users but not in all countries.
Facebook users use both Messenger (Facebook’s messaging platform) and WhatsApp interchangeably. As they both meet under the same umbrella, it was to be expected that they would work the same waysadly not, including the ability to delete messages.
Encryption of messages in Messenger
WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption (the message is encrypted when it is sent and is automatically decrypted by the recipient of the message) in conversations, so these are only stored on users’ mobile devices without storing a copy on the servers.
Messenger, meanwhile, encrypt messages just like TelegramHowever, the encryption is not end-to-end. The keys to decrypt the messages are found on the company’s servers. In this way, Messenger, like Telegram, allows us to continue our conversations comfortably from our computer or tablet without our smartphone having to be turned on.
Delete messages in Messenger
While on WhatsApp we have a limited time to be able to delete the messages we have sent, in Messenger the time is unlimited, as in Telegram, regardless of whether the message has been read or not. However, Mark Zuckerberg’s platform offers us two different methods, methods that only complicate the function and confuse the user: Delete message and Cancel message.
Delete message
During the first 10 minutes after writing a message in Messenger, we have the option to delete a message both for us and for the other interlocutors. If 10 minutes have already elapsed, the message will only be deleted from our chat, not from the chat where the other participants in the chat are.
Cancel shipment
The other option that Messenger makes available to us to delete, this time, messages in Messenger is Cancel message. With this curious name, we find the function that actually allows us to delete messages that we have sent through Messenger regardless of the time that has elapsed since we wrote it.
How to delete Messenger messages on Android
- To delete or cancel messages in the Messenger application for Android, the first thing we must do is press and hold on the message in question.
- Next, we must click on the button Get rid of represented by a trash can.
- Finally, we must select the option we want:
- Cancel shipment
- Delete for me (option shown if more than 10 minutes have passed since it was written) / Delete for all (if 10 minutes have not elapsed since we wrote it)
How to delete Messenger messages on iPhone
The procedure to delete Messenger messages on the iPhone is practically the same as in Android.
- Once we have opened the application and we have found the message we want to delete, we hold down the message until a menu with options appears at the bottom.
- Then, click on More and we select the Delete option. Then it will show us two options:
- Delete for me (this option is shown if more than 10 minutes have passed since it was written) / Delete for all (if 10 minutes have not elapsed since we wrote it)
- And the option Cancel shipment.
How to delete Messenger messages on PC / Mac
Messenger is available for both PC and macOS through Facebook’s own application, an application aimed at making video calls with up to 50 participants, although not exclusively, since we can also use it to continue our conversations.
To delete a message, we must place the mouse over the message that we want to delete, press the right button of the mouse and select the option that we want: Cancel shipment or Delete for me.
How to delete Messenger conversations
If you want completely delete the conversation that you have maintained through Messenger, you must perform the steps that I detail below:
- First, we must press and hold our finger on the conversation that we want to delete.
- Next, a drop-down menu will be displayed in which we have to select the Delete option.
This option entails the complete elimination of the conversation so we will never be able to get it back. Unlike WhatsApp, which allows us to archive the chats that bother us on the main screen (which allows us to consult it later or resume them), in Messenger this possibility does not exist.
Alternatives to deleting messages in Messenger
Messenger offers us two options to keep our conversations controlled at all times through the Temporary Mode and Secret Conversations functions.
Temporary mode
The temporary mode allows us to have a conversation that automatically takes care of delete all messages once read when we leave the conversation. This option is ideal for not leaving any trace of our messages with other people.
When the person has read the message we have sent, a blue confirmation check is displayed informing us that it has been read and that the message will be deleted automatically when you leave the conversation.
Temporary mode is available within the conversation options that we have created. It is available only for new conversations and once activated, it shows the interface in black to differentiate it from other chats.
What’s more, if someone take a screenshot or record the screen, we will receive a notification.
Secret conversations
Secret conversations work in the same way as WhatsApp, encrypting end-to-end conversations, so they are only accessible from our mobile phone, not from the version for PC or Mac.
This option must be activated by both us and our interlocutor. In addition, it allows us to establish the time that must elapse from the message sent is read until it is automatically deleted. The erase time is 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 6 hours, 12 hours, and one day.
To establish this time, we must click on the clock displayed just in front of the text box. Once set, this will be the same for all messages, although we can modify it for messages that we want to remain on the screen for longer.
The time shown on the screen once read, it also affects us, so once it has elapsed, the text will be displayed instead This message has expired for you.
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