Delete WhatsApp Messages: Easy Guide

There are many reasons why you would prefer not to simply display a WhatsApp chat in the app. For example, because you are planning a surprise party for your partner, the parents maybe don’t need to know everything or for, well, morally questionable reasons. Most methods have one disadvantage: the chats can still be found. Here’s how to really hide them so they can’t be found.

There are many tricks for hiding individual chats and groups, such as code names for contacts or archiving the relevant histories. For some time now, the messenger has offered a much more reliable method ex works: the so-called blocked chats are actually hidden from prying eyes. And are still easy to reach.

To do this, all you have to do is hold down the relevant chat in the overview – and then select “Block chat” in the context menu that pops up. You then determine whether the chats should be blocked using a pin or biometric data such as facial recognition. And the chats are no longer displayed.

However, this method is not yet completely safe: you can find the hidden conversations again if you drag the chat list down. Then a “Blocked Chats” tab suddenly appears. If you tap it and know the PIN on your smartphone, you can still read the chats.

Whatsapp has therefore built in another layer of protection. If you have blocked at least one chat and reopened the list, a hidden settings menu will suddenly appear. This offers the option of actually making the blocked chats disappear completely and/or protecting them with a separate pin.

If you choose the option to hide the blocked chats, they will actually no longer be displayed at all. They only appear again when you enter the pin in the search. There is also no indication in the menu or elsewhere in the app whether you are using the function. Without the correct pin, it seems as if the chats never existed.

However, using the secret chats is not entirely smooth. Of course, they can’t receive notifications or calls for these chats – that would be too noticeable. So Whatsapp only shows a neutral message, without content or sender. But that’s not entirely without suspicion.

Receiving attachments such as images, videos or documents is also not possible. If you want to receive some, you have to briefly unblock the chat. Media that has already been received is hidden when it is blocked.

By the way, you shouldn’t forget the PIN: If you hide the blocked chats completely, you can’t even go into the menu to reset them without the secret number. Even reinstalling the app doesn’t work; all blocked apps are automatically blocked again. The only option: In the regular WhatsApp settings, all blocked chats can be deleted and thus reset. The chat partners are then unblocked, but you have to start a new conversation. The contents are irreversibly destroyed.