Microsoft Teams is one of the applications that digitalized our workspace. With digitalization, users get to enjoy several features such as meeting alerts, real-time chats, and file sharing.
Additionally, you also get to delete chats that are no longer useful to you. It’s a big contrast to what we’re used to in a physical office. You’re on the right page if you’re interested in learning more about how you can delete chats in teams.
This article will cover how you can delete chats from the desktop, Android, and iOS/iPad OS versions of Microsoft Teams, so keep reading!
Things to Consider Before Deleting Chats
There are a few things you must keep in mind before you delete messages on Teams. This includes certain restrictions and the accessibility of your deleted chats. We recommend you skim through this before you start deleting chats:
- The selected messages will only be deleted for you.
- The recipients won’t know that you’ve deleted the chats.
- The chats you delete will be wiped out from all of your devices.
- When you export your Teams data, the deleted chats aren’t exported alongside other data.
How to Delete Chat in Teams?
You can delete the messages from the Chat section in Teams. Remember, you must log in to the Teams organization with the chat. You can access messages from other organizations if you’re logged in to a different account.
You do not have to own a certain device to remove messages from Teams. The delete feature is available across all versions of Teams; Desktop, Android, and iOS/iPad OS.
Delete Individual Messages
You can delete selected messages on Teams. This is handy when you accidentally send a wrong message to a colleague or a channel. Deleting individual messages is supported in all versions of Teams.
Here are ways you can delete messages on Teams:
On Desktop Version
If you use the desktop version of Teams, refer to these steps to remove messages from a conversation:
- Open the Microsoft Teams application.
- From the sidebar, head to Chat.
- Locate the chat with the messages you want to delete.
- Hover over the message you want to delete and select the three-dot menu (More Options).
- Select Delete.
(NOTE: To recover the deleted messages immediately, click on Undo next to the “This message has been deleted” message.)
On Android/iOS Version
Deleting messages on Teams is the same for Teams’ Android and iOS versions. Here are the steps you can refer to delete chats from your mobile application:
- Open the application for Microsoft Teams.
- From the Chat section, tap on the conversation with the message you want to delete.
- Press and hold the message you want to delete.
- On the menubar, select Delete.
- Select Delete to confirm your action.
Delete Entire Conversation
If you have a conversation with a user you have no use for, you can delete your copy of it. You might use this feature, especially when a colleague has left your organization.
When you delete conversations, they will be removed from the Chat section. This will help declutter your space for other important chats.
You can delete chat for all versions of Teams, including the desktop, Android, and iOS/iPad OS versions.
On Desktop Version
For desktop users, follow these steps to delete the entire conversation with a user on MS Teams:
- Open the desktop version of MS Teams.
- Hop on to Chat from the left sidebar.
- Hover your cursor over the conversation you want to remove.
- Select the three-dot menu (More Options) and select Delete.
- To validate your action, select Yes, delete on the pop-up.
On iOS/iPad OS Version
If you use an iPhone or an iPad to use Microsoft Teams, here are the steps you can refer to delete conversations:
- Open the mobile application for Microsoft Teams.
- On Chats, swipe left on the conversation you want to clear.
- Tap on More.
- Select Delete.
On Android Version
The option of deleting conversations is also available in the Android version of Microsoft Teams. Follow these steps to delete conversations in Teams using an Android device:
- Open Microsoft Teams.
- From the Chat section, press and hold the conversation you want to delete.
- Tap on Delete from the list of available options.
Other Alternatives
Deleting messages is permanent and very difficult to recover. If you do not wish to lose the chats permanently, you can try other options such as Hide or Mute.
Hide Chat
Using the Hide feature keeps the conversation away from the Chat section until the other person posts a new message. If you have a conversation with a user that has been inactive for a long time, you can use this feature.
The Hide feature is available in all versions of Microsoft Teams.
On Desktop Version
If you use a desktop while using MS Teams, follow these steps to hide a conversation:
- Open the MS Teams application.
- From the panel to your left, select Chat.
- Place your cursor over the conversation you want to hide.
- A three-dot menu must appear on the right of the conversion; select it.
- Click on Hide.
On iOS/iPadOS Version
For iPhone and iPad users, here are the steps you can follow to hide conversations in Microsoft Teams:
- Open the mobile application for MS Teams.
- Under Chat, swipe left on the conversation you want to hide.
- Select More Options.
- Tap on Hide.
On Android Version
You can also hide conversations if you own an Android device. Follow these steps to hide chats from an Android device:
- Open MS Teams.
- On the Chat section, press and hold the conversation you want to hide.
- Select Hide from the list of options.
Mute Chat
The Mute feature is used to block notifications from the conversations you’ve enabled this feature for. You can mute conversations that aren’t as urgent as the rest. This will allow you to turn more attention to urgent conversations.
Like other features, Mute is available in all Microsoft Teams versions.
On Desktop Version
Here are the steps you can refer to mute conversations in the desktop version of MS Teams:
- Open the MS Teams application.
- Under the Chat section, hover over the conversation you want to mute.
- Click on the horizontal three-dot menu.
- Select Mute.
On iOS/iPad Version
For iPhone and iPad users, refer to these steps to mute a conversation in MS Teams:
- Open the mobile application for Microsoft Teams.
- On Chat, slide the conversation you want to mute to the left.
- Select More Options.
- Tap on Mute.
On Android Version
If you use an Android device to use Microsoft Teams, follow these steps to mute a conversation:
- Open MS Teams.
- On the Chat section, press and hold the conversation you wish to mute.
- From the menu that appears, select Mute.
How to Fix Delete Option Unavailable in Teams?
If you do not find a Delete option when trying these methods, you either have a guest account, or the admin hasn’t granted you the permission required to delete the conversation.
Sign in with your Microsoft credentials to open a user account on MS Teams. A user is free to use all free-to-use functions if they own a free version of MS Teams.
If you have the Delete right revoked, we suggest you contact the administrator to request for change.
