How To Delete an Instagram Message on Any Device

If you regret sending a DM, you can still do something about it. Instagram lets you edit and even unsend your messages. This can be a lifesaver if what you wrote is already making you cringe. In this blog post, we’ll show you how to delete an Instagram message.

How To Delete an Instagram Message on PC

Instagram’s browser platform doesn’t have all the app’s features. However, you can still unsend a direct message. Here’s how:

1. Click the Messages tab on the feed’s left-hand side.
2. Tap the conversation you want to delete a DM from.
3. Click the three dots to the left of your Instagram DM.
4. Press Unsend, then confirm you want to delete it.

5. The message should disappear from view instantly.

This feature lets you delete individual messages you regret sending. You can even scroll back to conversations from months ago and do this. 

However, unlike most other platforms, you can’t just remove the DM from view. Unsending it will always hide it from the other person’s side. Similarly, you can’t hide/remove their DMs. You can, however, delete comments they leave on your posts.

To delete the entire conversation, click the ⓘ symbol in the top right. You can then press Delete Chat to remove it — but only for you.

How To Delete an Instagram Message on iPhone/Android

Insta’s mobile app also lets you unsend messages with ease. Here’s how to delete an Instagram DM message on mobile devices:

1. On IG’s home, click the paper airplane/lightning bolt icon.
2. Tap the conversation you want to delete a message from.
3. Hold your message, then click the Unsend option.

4. Confirm you want to unsend it, and the DM will vanish.

On top of this, you can delete an entire chat if necessary. Hold on the conversation in your inbox and press Delete. Confirm this, and it’ll disappear right away. However, the other person will still see your messages.

Similarly, there’s little you can do if they’ve seen your messages. They might have their receipts off, meaning they can open a message without you knowing. It’s also possible they already read the DM in their notifications.

Why Delete an Instagram DM?

People learn how to delete an individual message on Instagram for a lot of reasons. However, if you want to unsend a DM, make sure you’re being ethical about it. Here are six good reasons to unsend an Insta message:

• Wrong person: You might have simply sent the right DM to the wrong account. You can save yourself a lot of hassle by deleting the message and moving on.
• Embarrassment: Did you make a bad joke that you don’t think’s going to land? It might still get a few laughs, but there’s always the option of unsending it.
• Calming down: Anybody can send the wrong message when their emotions are running high. If you get rid of it fast enough, you won’t hurt someone’s feelings.
• Privacy: It might just be a private talk that you don’t want anybody to see. However, it’s going to look suspicious if the other person doesn’t delete their DMs.
• Hack attempts: If you click the wrong link, someone could hack your Instagram account. You’ll then have to delete the DMs they send to your friends in your name.
• Avoiding screenshots: If you’re talking about a sensitive topic, you might not want the other person taking pictures. Deleting the DM lets you get around this.

Editing a Message on Instagram

Sometimes, it’s not worth unsending a message. You might just want to fix a typo or something similarly minor. As of March 2024, Instagram now lets you edit DMs for up to 15 minutes. Here’s how to use this feature on iOS and Android devices:

1. Hold the DM you want to change.
2. Select Edit from the pop-up menu.
3. Type your new message.
4. Tap the paper airplane icon.

The new message will replace the original. The other person won’t see your first message. They will, however, see you edited it — the DM will have a special Edited tag.

There’s also still the possibility that they read the original in their notifications. This means they’ll spot right away if the message is entirely different.

Using Instagram’s Vanish Feature

Vanish Mode lets users keep a whole IG conversation private. When it’s active, both sides’ DMs will automatically start deleting messages. If you read a message and then exit the chat, it won’t be there when you reopen it.

However, this feature isn’t available for PC or Android devices. It’s only usable on iOS. With this in mind, here’s how to activate this mode on iPhones:

1. Go to the chat you want to “encrypt.”
2. Slide up from the bottom of the screen.
3. Hold this for a second or two.
4. The chat will then change to dark mode.

Once the conversation’s over, slide up again to deactivate it. This feature is good for when both sides want to have a private talk. You won’t have to manually delete every single message.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean to delete an Instagram message?

The only way to delete an individual Insta message is to unsend it. This means it won’t be there for the other person. This won’t stop them getting a notification, though.

Can you delete someone else’s messages?

As of 2024, you can’t learn how to delete an Instagram message from someone else. However, you can delete a full conversation. To do this, hold on the account name in your DMs and select Delete.

Can people recover deleted messages from Instagram?

If someone requests their account data before deleting their Insta account, this includes their DMs. They could look in their chat history documents and find the messages that you deleted.