How to Delete WhatsApp Messages for Everyone After Long Time

Can you delete WhatsApp messages for everyone?

We like WhatsApp because of its convenience when it comes to communication. It is an indispensable part of our social life and most of our conversations are occurring through it. However, sometimes we may send wrong words, which may convey the incorrect message to someone. In this case, can you delete WhatsApp messages for everyone?

Fortunately, the answer is YES! In the latest version of WhatsApp, users can delete any message that has been sent out, including texts, photos, videos and any other files. But you can only withdraw the message within two days of sending it.

Just in case, you may need the guide to know How to Restore Deleted Photos in WhatsApp.

Here in this guide, I’ll show you how to delete WhatsApp messages for everyone on iPhone and Android phone. In addition, a trick to delete WhatsApp messages for everyone after time limit will also be discussed.

How to delete WhatsApp messages for everyone

When you send a wrong message, it lets you withdraw messages with the Delete for Everyone feature. Let’s start to see how to delete WhatsApp messages for everyone on iPhone and Android phone.

Way 1. Delete WhatsApp messages for everyone on iPhone

1. Open WhatsApp > Go to the chat that contains the messages you want to delete.

2. Tap and hold the message > Choose Delete > Select the messages you want to delete.

3. Tap the Trash icon > Choose Delete for Everyone.

Way 2. Delete WhatsApp messages for everyone on Android phone

1. Open WhatsApp > Choose the chat containing the message you want to delete.

2. Tap and hold the message > Choose all the messages you want to delete.

3. Tap Trash icon > Choose Delete for Everyone.

★Tips:

It’s easy to delete WhatsApp messages for everyone, however, this feature does not always work. You can only delete the messages within 2 days. That’s say, you cannot delete messages sent 2 days or more ago.

The Delete for Everyone will only work when the recipients have updated WhatsApp to the latest version.

You will not be notified if the Delete for Everyone feature is not successful.

If you are an administrator of a group, you can delete the messages sent by other group participants. And only the group admins can delete the messages sent by other group participants.

The recipient may have saved the photos, videos or other files before you deleted them.

How to delete WhatsApp messages for everyone after long time

As mentioned before, it is not possible to delete messages for everyone at any time. If you exceed the time limit, you may want to know how to delete WhatsApp messages for everyone after time limit.

In this case, you can change the date and time of your phone to trick WhatsApp into believing you haven't crossed the time limit. Let’s start to see how to delete WhatsApp messages for everyone after long time.

Way 3. Delete WhatsApp messages for everyone after long time on iPhone

For some WhatsApp users, they don’t want to keep a large number of messages or attachments on their phone. In this case, trying to help WhatsApp delete messages older than 6 months is good way to free up some space. Here is how to do it:

1. Check and note down the time and date when the message was sent > Force close WhatsApp.

2. Turn on Airplane mode.

3. Go to Settings > General > Date and time.

4. Turn off Set Automatically > Change the date and time to something before when the message was sent.

5. Don’t turn off Airplane mode and open WhatsApp to delete WhatsApp for everyone.

Way 4. Delete WhatsApp messages for everyone after long time on Android

1. Note down the exact date and time of the message when it was sent and close WhatsApp.

2. Go to Settings of your phone > Choose Apps or Apps and Notifications > Tap WhatsApp > Tap Force stop/Force close and click OK. It will freeze the app and prevent it from running.

3. Turn off Wi-Fi and mobile data.

4. Then go to Date and time under Settings > Turn off Automatic date & time > Change the date and time - a time before the message was sent.

5. Now you can open WhatsApp and delete the messages for everyone. (Please do not turn on Wi-Fi or mobile data before deleting.)

★Tips:

If you set a time a long time ago, WhatsApp will send you an error notification informing you that your date and time settings are incorrect and you will have to restart the app.

After successfully deleting a message, you can turn on Wi-Fi/mobile data and revert the date and time to the original settings. When you come back online, the deleted messages will disappear from your phone and the recipient’s phone.

FAQs about deleting WhatsApp messages for everyone

Q: How to delete WhatsApp messages for everyone after delete for me

After you choose Delete for Me option, you will be given 5 seconds to undo this action. You can tap Undo to let the messages show in your chat again. Then you can choose to delete the messages for everyone.

Or you can recover the messages from backup or use a WhatsApp recovery app and then delete the messages for everyone.

Q: Can the deleted messages be recovered by recipients?

If the recipient backed up WhatsApp before you deleted the message, it is possible to restore those deleted messages from the backup. And maybe the recipient took a screenshot before you deleted the messages. Refer to this guide to learn more: [Answered] Can WhatsApp Messages Be Traced After Deleted

Q: Can you delete WhatsApp messages for everyone after time limit?

Yes, you can. You can change the date and time to make the Delete for Everyone option available to you.

Q: How to delete WhatsApp messages older than 6 months from both sides?

You can follow the steps in this guide to change the time and delete the messages for everyone. However, this may not work because WhatsApp may ask you to restart the app if a date was set a long time ago.

Final words

That’s all about how to delete WhatsApp messages for everyone. In most cases, you can choose the messages and tap Delete for Everyone option to delete them from both sides.

If the time limit is exceeded, you can change the time to trick WhatsApp and make the option available to you. Remember to turn off mobile data and WiFi, that’s the most crucial part of the process.

It is worth mentioning that if you are afraid of accidentally deleting information that you should not delete, the best way is to use the freeware phone tools to back up WhatsApp data, and FoneTool is your first choice. Now you can do whatever you want without worrying about losing important data.