Why Is Delete for Everyone Not Showing or Working on WhatsApp

Mehvish Mushtaq is a computer engineer by degree. Her love for Android and gadgets led her to develop the first Android app for Kashmir. Known as Dial Kashmir, she won the prestigious Nari Shakti award from the President of India. She has been writing about technology for 6+ years and her favorite categories include how-to guides, explainers, tips and tricks for Android, iOS/iPadOS, social media, and web apps.

Atish is a seasoned tech enthusiast fueled by caffeine and a Computer Science engineering degree. He stumbled into the blogging world in 2015 and hasn’t looked back. Over 2000+ articles later, his work has been featured on sites like Gizbot, Firstpost, PhoneArena, GSMArena, and IBTimes. At GT, he’s your go-to guy for how-tos, invaluable tips, and troubleshooting guides that actually work. He’s also an SEO and digital marketing whiz and content strategist, so his tech takes are always on point and ethical.

1. Time Limit for Deleting WhatsApp Messages

Unlike the normal delete that works all the time, even after 3 months or so, there is a time limit in usingDelete for everyone. You can unsend messageswithin 2 daysof sending them only. After that, you will not see the Delete for Everyone option. So, if it’s missing when you press the Delete icon, you might be trying to delete it after two days of sending a message.

Tip:Know how todelete a message on WhatsAppwithout opening it.

2. Works for Sent Messages Only

The Delete for everyone feature works for the sent messages only in personal chats. This means you can only unsend messages that you have sent and not the ones that you receive, unless it’s a group.

3. Only Group Admin Can Use Delete for Everyone

If you are a group admin and someone sends an inappropriate message in the group, you can delete that message using the Delete for everyone feature. The message will be deleted from all the group participant’s phones. That’s one of thepowers of WhatsApp admins.

This feature is only limited to the group admin. So if you are trying to delete someone else’s messages in a group, if you are not the group admin, you will not see the Delete for everyone option. You will only see it for your own sent messages.

Also Read: Know how tomute WhatsApp groups forever.

4. Doesn’t Work for Quoted Texts

Strangely, Delete for everyone doesn’t work for quoted texts. Picture this — you send a message, and someone sends a response quoting that message. Now, if you unsend the original message that you sent, technically, your quoted message should also get deleted. But that doesn’t happen. Only the message that you sent will be removed, and the quoted message will stay.

Fortunately, if you delete the message first and later someone quotes it, then the text will not be visible.

5. Participants Should be Using the Latest Version of WhatsApp

Both you and the recipient must be using the latest versions of WhatsApp, i.e., the versions that support the Delete for everyone feature. If any one of you is using an old version that doesn’t support it, this feature will not work.

Also Read:Learn how tocheck if apps need an update.

6. Use the Same Device to Delete Messages

Generally, the Delete for everyone option will show up fromlinked devicesas well. That is, if you send a message from WhatsApp on Android, you can use the Delete for everyone feature on the same message from your computer. But if that’s not happening in a rare situation, i.e., Delete for everyone option is missing, then you should use the same device that you used for sending the message to delete the message.

FAQs on WhatsApp’s Delete for Everyone Not Showing or Working

If you delete a message on WhatsApp, you get two options — Delete for me and Delete for everyone. The first one is your regular delete button, which will only delete the message on your phone. Hence, the name Delete for me. It will not unsend or delete messages from the recipient’s phone. On the other hand, the Delete for everyone will magically delete the message from your own and the recipient’s phone. It works in personal andgroup conversations.

When you press the Delete for everyone button, the message gets deleted instantly from all the phones that had it. No confirmation box will appear. So be careful when you use it.Once you delete it, you will not get a notification whether the message was deleted successfully or not. Instead, the message will be replaced by deleted text. While the sender will see the text ‘You deleted this message’, the recipient will see ‘This message was deleted’ at the place of the deleted message

No.Clearing chatwill only remove WhatsApp messages on your phone. It will not have any impact on the messages on the receiver’s phone.

That depends. If the person has already seen your message, then deleting it will only remove it from their phone and not the person’s memory. However, if they haven’t seen it, there are tricks toview the deleted message on WhatsApp.

If you accidentally used the Delete for me button, you will see anundo messagefor 5 seconds. Tap on it to restore the message. Then use the Delete for everyone button.

Was this helpful?

Last updated on 22 July, 2024

The article above may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. The content remains unbiased and authentic and will never affect our editorial integrity.

More in Internet and Social

How to Unfollow on TikTok: 2 Quick Ways

How to Download Video From Twitter (X) DMs on PC and Mobile

JOIN THE NEWSLETTER

Get Guiding Tech articles delivered to your inbox.

© 2024 Guiding Tech Media. All Rights Reserved.