You can delete Instagram messages one at a time or remove entire conversations
Instagram lets you delete messages in two ways: you can remove individual messages from a conversation, or you can delete the whole conversation at once. When you delete a message, it disappears from your inbox, but the other person still sees it on their end unless you unsend it instead. Unsending is different — it removes the message from both your inbox and theirs, though they may have already read it.
The steps differ slightly depending on whether you use Instagram on your phone or computer, and whether you want to delete one message or an entire chat thread. This guide walks you through each option so you know which method to use for what you're trying to do.
Key Takeaways
- Deleting a message removes it from your inbox only; unsending removes it from both inboxes, though the recipient may have already seen it.
- On your phone, press and hold a single message to unsend it, or swipe left on a conversation to delete the entire thread.
- On a computer, right-click a message to unsend it, or click the trash icon next to a conversation name to delete the whole chat.
- Unsending a message does not notify the other person that you removed it, but they may notice if they saw it before you unsent it.
- Once you delete or unsend a message, you cannot undo the action, so make sure before you confirm.
How to unsend or delete a single message on your phone
Open Instagram and go to your Direct Messages by tapping the paper airplane icon in the top right corner. Find the conversation that contains the message you want to remove, and open it. Look at the message you want to unsend — it can be a text message, photo, video, or any other type of message you sent.
Press and hold your finger on the message for about two seconds until a menu appears with options. Tap Unsend. The message will disappear from both your inbox and the recipient's inbox when ready. If you want to delete a message someone else sent to you, press and hold that message instead — you will see a Delete option, which removes it from your inbox only.
The other person will not receive a notification that you unsent a message, but they may notice it is gone if they were looking at the conversation when you removed it. There is no way to undo an unsend, so double-check the message before you hold down on it.
How to delete an entire conversation on your phone
Open Instagram Direct Messages and look at the list of all your conversations. Find the conversation you want to remove. Swipe your finger from right to left across the conversation name — a trash icon will appear on the right side of the screen.
Tap the trash icon. Instagram will ask you to confirm that you want to delete the conversation. Tap Delete to confirm. The entire conversation thread, including all messages in it, will disappear from your inbox. The other person will still have the conversation in their inbox — deleting it only removes it from your side.
If you change your mind when ready after deleting, you cannot restore the conversation. However, if the other person sends you a new message, a new conversation thread will start and you can see their future messages.
How to unsend or delete messages on a computer
Go to Instagram.com and log in. Click the Direct Messages icon (the paper airplane) in the top right, or click the speech bubble icon on the left sidebar. Your list of conversations will open on the left side of the screen.
Click on the conversation that contains the message you want to remove. Find the message in the chat window. Hover your mouse over the message — three dots will appear to the right of it. Click those dots and select Unsend to remove the message from both inboxes, or Delete to remove it from your inbox only.
To delete an entire conversation on a computer, find the conversation name in the left sidebar. Hover over it and a trash icon will appear on the right. Click the trash icon and confirm that you want to delete the conversation. Like on your phone, this removes the conversation from your inbox but not from the other person's.
What happens when you unsend versus delete
These two actions are not the same, and it matters which one you choose. When you unsend a message, Instagram removes it from both your inbox and the recipient's inbox. They will not see the message anymore, though if they read it before you unsent it, they already know what it said. Unsending does not send them a notification that you removed something.
When you delete a message, it only disappears from your own inbox. The other person can still see it in their conversation with you. Deleting is useful if you want to clean up your own inbox but do not need to hide the message from the other person. If you delete a message by accident, you cannot get it back.
If you unsend a message and then the other person replies to it, their reply will still be visible in the conversation. This can look confusing because the original message is gone but the response to it remains. There is no way to remove someone else's reply unless you delete the entire conversation.
Clearing your entire Direct Messages inbox
If you want to delete many conversations at once rather than one by one, Instagram does not have a "select all" or "clear inbox" button. You will need to delete each conversation individually using the methods described above. On your phone, this means swiping left on each conversation and tapping the trash icon. On a computer, you hover over each conversation and click the trash icon.
A faster approach is to archive conversations instead of deleting them. On your phone, swipe left on a conversation and tap Archive instead of delete. The conversation will move out of your main inbox and into an archive folder, but you can still find it later if you need to. To view archived conversations, scroll to the top of your Direct Messages list and tap Archived. On a computer, right-click a conversation and select Archive to move it out of sight without permanently removing it.
What you should know about message privacy
Deleting or unsending a message from your own inbox does not change what Instagram stores about your account. The company keeps records of messages for its own purposes, even after you delete them. This is separate from what the other person can see — when you unsend, they cannot see it; when you delete, they still can.
If you are concerned about a conversation, unsending is more effective than deleting because it removes the message from the other person's view. However, remember that they may have taken a screenshot before you unsent it, or they may have already read and remembered what you wrote. There is no way to know if someone has screenshotted your message.
If you want to have a private conversation that you do not want to leave a permanent record of, consider using Instagram's Vanish Mode instead. This feature makes messages disappear automatically after they are seen, though the other person can still screenshot them. To use Vanish Mode, swipe up on a conversation thread on your phone, or click the flame icon on a computer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the other person tell if I unsent a message?
They will not get a notification that you unsent it, but they may notice the message is gone if they were looking at the conversation when you removed it. If they read the message before you unsent it, they already know what it said. There is no way to hide the fact that a message existed if they saw it first.
What is the difference between unsend and delete?
Unsend removes the message from both your inbox and the other person's inbox. Delete removes it from your inbox only — the other person can still see it. Use unsend if you want to hide the message from them; use delete if you only want to clean up your own inbox.
Can I undo a message I unsent?
No. Once you unsend a message, it is permanently gone from both inboxes and cannot be recovered. Make sure you want to unsend before you confirm the action. If you unsent something by accident, you will need to send a new message explaining what you meant.
If I delete a conversation, can the other person still message me?
Yes. Deleting a conversation only removes it from your inbox. If the other person sends you a new message, a new conversation thread will appear in your Direct Messages. You will be able to see their new message and respond to it normally.
Does unsending a message notify Instagram or the other person?
The other person does not get a notification that you unsent a message. Instagram records that the message existed, but the other person cannot see it anymore. If you are worried about privacy, remember that screenshots are always possible and Instagram keeps its own records of your account activity.