Disclaimer: The Internet Is Forever
Unfortunately, because you’re not the only participant in these conversations, deleting messages on your side means very little. The other party still has it on their Facebook account, and even if everyone involved deletes the conversation, the records may still be living somewhere on Facebook’s servers. Because Facebook is not end-to-end encrypted by default (though you can enable this option), messages you exchange on it can potentially stick around in plain text for the lifetime of both accounts.
Do You Really Want to Delete These Messages?
If your main goal is just to make sure no one who gets access to your Facebook can pry into your message history, complete deletion is definitely the best option. However, if you’re just looking to clear up your cluttered inbox, you may want to consider the “Archive” option. On PC, hover your mouse cursor over the chat in question, click the three dots that appear, then select “Archive.” You’ll have to long press on the message to bring up this option on a mobile device. This moves the chat to a separate folder where your old messages can live, safely tucked away from your new ones. But if you don’t want to see these messages ever again, you have no other choice but to delete them from your inbox by following one of the below methods.
1. The Official but Slow Way
This method allows you to delete entire chat threads from Facebook on your computer or mobile device. Unfortunately, this method still only allows you to delete one chat thread at a time. It’s important to note that should the person you were messaging respond back, a new chat thread will start. The other person will still have their chat thread with you intact and won’t be affected by your decision to delete your conversation.
2. The Faster Way to Delete Facebook Messages
Deleting Facebook messages one by one will undoubtedly feel tedious and, after a while, you’re just as likely to quit when it seems there is no end is in sight. That’s where the Google Chrome extension L.O.C. comes in handy. With this extension, you now have a true “one-click” option to nuke your entire message history once and for all. The best part about this extension is that it lets you delete select message threads and won’t delete ALL your messages (although that’s possible). Just as with the method above, the deleted messages will disappear only on your end. If the other party were to send you a new message, a new conversation thread would pop up, though you won’t be able to see your older messages.
3. Try a Third-Party App
If you have an Android device, you can use a third-party app called Delete Messages on Messenger At Once to delete Facebook messages in bulk. While the service is free to install and use, it features ads, yet they are not too excessive. You can switch to the paid tier if that really bothers you.
4. Quick Delete From Messenger Web
While not necessarily a bulk option, you can quickly delete messages inside Messenger, whether you’re doing so on your PC or mobile device. This can be a solution if you don’t want to install an app or an extension. Yet, if you’re looking to delete many messages, it probably would be best to use one of the three other methods outlined above. Note: if you do remove the message for everyone, the recipient will know that the message was removed but won’t be able to see the content of the message. This option applies to messages you’ve sent. If you wish to get rid of certain messages the other party sent, they will be deleted solely for you and not them.
5. Quick Delete From Messenger Desktop
Like the browser, the Mac desktop app for Messenger has similar “Remove for you” and “Remove for everyone” options. The app doesn’t offer a bulk option, but in a pinch, removing individual messages one at a time can come in handy. Similar functionality is available for the Windows app, so consider the apps a fast way to quickly remove messages without deleting everything all at once. Just right-click on the message in question to bring up the options.
6. Quick Delete From Messenger Apps
Unfortunately, using the Facebook-owned Messenger app on iOS and Android won’t offer bulk delete, but the same options are added as website and Mac/Windows apps. Image credit: Rodnae Productions via Pexels All screenshots by Alexandra Arici
