Why cant I Delete for everyone on WhatsApp group chat?

By Ankita Chakravarti: WhatsApp has been working on a host of new features. The latest feature that the messaging app was recently spotted working on could be really useful for group chats. As per reports, WhatsApp is testing the feature to let group admins delete messages for everyone in a group. This means that the group admin can take a call about a message. The admin can keep or delete a message.

As per reports by Wabetainfo, WhatsApp has released a new 2.22.1.1 update, which lets group admins delete a message for everyone in the group. The screenshot shows that when the message gets deleted it displays a message saying that “it was removed by an admin”. No matter how many admins are there in a group, all of them will have the right to delete messages for everyone. The report states that the feature is yet to launch for beta testers.

“The good news is that WhatsApp is finally updating the process to delete messages, and groups admins will be able to delete any message sent in the group. Thanks to this feature, groups admins will also have more power to moderate WhatsApp groups, in a future update,” the report said. It is not clear whether WhatsApp will consider a stable rollout of the feature or not.

Once rolled out, it would be easier for group admins to delete obscene or objectionable messages. It would also help admins in removing messages that go against the interest of the group.

A couple of days ago, WhatsApp was reportedly working on the possibility of extending the time limit of the ‘Delete Message for Everyone’ feature. Currently, users only have the option of deleting the message once sent after one hour, eight minutes and sixteen seconds. Soon users will get the option of deleting messages for everyone seven days after sending them.

WhatsApp features tracker Wabetainfo has reported that WhatsApp is now planning to change the time limit to 7 days and 8 minutes in a future update. Previously, it was also being speculated that WhatsApp will do away with the time limit bit and keep the option open for users to delete messages for everyone even after hours, days, years of sending them. But now WhatsApp is planning to modify the current time limit at a later date.

WhatsApp has been adding many new features lately to catch up with other instant messaging apps. According to WABetaInfo, the messaging app has been working on a new group moderation feature. The feature will allow group admins to delete a message for every participant in the group.
WABetaInfo reports that the ‘admin delete’ feature is now rolling out with the WhatsApp beta for the Android 2.22.1.7 update. The feature was first spotted by the publication last year. If you are on the beta testers receiving this feature and are a group administrator, you can delete messages for anyone in the group.
How admins can delete anyone’s message in the group
All you have to do is to long-press an incoming message and tap the “Delete for Everyone” option to delete a message in the group. Other group participants will be able to see that you, as an admin, deleted the message for everyone.
Public rollout may take time
The report mentions that the feature is being rolled out very slowly, so it could take some time before it rolls out widely to every beta user. There is no word on when this feature will be available in the stable version.
WhatsApp recently added some new features for group conversations, including the option to mute others and to message to other participants during a call. The instant messaging app also introduced reactions and is touted to bring Avatars soon. Even more features are under development and testing in the beta phase that could be released in the coming weeks.

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If you send a wrong message on WhatsApp, it lets you unsend messages using the Delete for everyone feature. However, the feature is restricted to within an hour only. What about messages older than 1 hour? How to delete WhatsApp messages for everyone after the time limit? You will find the answer here.

Let’s check how to delete WhatsApp messages after the time limit on Android and iPhone.

Content

1. Delete WhatsApp Messages After Time Limit on Android
2. Delete WhatsApp Messages After Time Limit on iPhone
3. Things to Remember

Delete WhatsApp Messages After Time Limit on Android

In order to delete WhatsApp messages after the time limit, the idea is to trick WhatsApp into believing that you didn’t cross the one-hour time limit of deleting messages. But how do you do that?

By changing the phone’s date and time very near to the message time (before 1 hour), you can trick WhatsApp into deleting messages for everyone after the time limit.

Let’s say you sent the message on 21 June 2021 at 9.00 AM. You will need to keep the date and time to 10 June 2021 at 9:30 AM or anything less than that. Doing so will help you in using WhatsApp’s Delete for everyone feature even after the time limit.

Related: How to Send WhatsApp Message Without Saving the Number on Android

Here are the steps in detail to delete WhatsApp messages after the time limit on Android.

Launch WhatsApp on your Android. Open the chat thread from which you want to delete the message.

Check and note down the exact date and time of the message when it was sent. You will see the time mentioned next to the message. For date, scroll up a bit and note down the first date that you find in the middle of the chat.

Now, you need to turn off all the network connections on your phone. Go to Settings and turn off both mobile data and WiFi under Connections or Network. You can also turn it off from Quick Settings.

After disabling Wi-Fi and mobile data, you need to remove WhatsApp from the Recent apps list. Go to Settings > Apps > WhatsApp. Tap on Force Close.

Now on your Android, go to Settings > System > Date & time. Turn off the toggle next to ‘Automatic date & time’ or ‘Use network-provided time’.

Once you change the date and time, open the WhatsApp chat thread from which you want to delete the message for everyone.

Touch and hold the message to delete. Tap on the Delete icon.

Tap on Delete for everyone.

Next, you need to revert the date and time to the original settings. For that, go to Settings > System > Date & time.

Toggle on Automatic or Network-provided time.

Enable mobile data or Wi-Fi again on your phone.

Open WhatsApp and you will see ‘You deleted this message in the place of the deleted WhatsApp message.

That’s how you can delete WhatsApp messages for everyone after the time limit. Changing date and time is a crucial step to delete WhatsApp messages after the time limit. Make sure you have disabled network connections before changing time.

In some cases, you might notice that WhatsApp shows the wrong time even after setting the correct time on your device. Don’t worry. Just remove WhatsApp from recent apps and the right time would appear. If that doesn’t help, just restart your phone.

Related: How to Speed Up WhatsApp Audio Messages to Play Voice Messages Faster

Delete WhatsApp Messages After Time Limit on iPhone

Similar to Android, you can delete WhatsApp messages for everyone after the time limit on your iPhone as well. You need to change the date and time on iPhone delete the WhatsApp message after one hour.

Related: How to Send WhatsApp Message Without Saving Number on iPhone

Here are the detailed instructions:

Open WhatsApp on your iPhone and go to the chat from which you want to delete the WhatsApp message.

Note down the date and time of the message from the WhatsApp chat.

Now, open Control Center and turn off both WiFi and Cellular Data. You can also go to Settings and turn off both from there.

Open the Recent apps list on your iPhone and swipe away WhatsApp to close it. Find out in detail how to close apps on iPhone from running in the background.

Now, we come to the main step. Go to iPhone Settings > General > Date & Time.

Turn off the toggle next to Set automatically. Then set the time and date to something before when the message was sent.

With time changed, open the same WhatsApp chat thread. Touch and hold the message that you are interested in deleting. Tap on Delete.

Select the Delete for everyone option. Confirm if asked.

Now go back to Settings > General > Date & time to revert the time. Enable the toggle for Set automatically.

After reverting back time to the automatic, and deleting the messages, you can now turn on cellular data or WiFi. Once you are back online, the WhatsApp message will be deleted from both your iPhone and the recipient’s device. This method works perfectly even if the messages are a week old.

Related: How to Blur Background in Video Calls on iPhone Using WhatsApp, FaceTime, Instagram, Messenger

Things to Remember

Ready to delete WhatsApp messages after the time limit? Here are a few things to note when using the above trick to delete WhatsApp messages after the one-hour set limit.

• Both single and double grey tick messages can be deleted using this method. Know more about various types of tick mark symbols on WhatsApp.
• If the message shows blue ticks, the person has already read your message. It wouldn’t help even if you delete the message. But, deleting again will stop the person from going through the message again and taking screenshots.
• If they are using an iPhone and enabled “Save to Camera Roll” for the media you sent, the photos/videos might still be available on their phone even after using the Delete for everyone feature. Find out how to hide videos and images from your phone’s Gallery.

We hope you were able to delete the WhatsApp message after the one-hour time limit on Android and iPhone using the above trick. To be on the safer side, set the time to after half an hour when the message was sent. If you face any issues, let us know in the comments below.

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24 COMMENTS

1. Suzie August 10, 2021 At 3:47 pm

   Help, after I set the clock back and re-open whatsapp, it says “your phone date is inaccurate” and won’t let me open whatsapp to delete the message. What should I do? Thanks.

   Reply

   • simon mweu (@MweuSimon) November 7, 2021 At 4:05 pm

     I have the same problem. how do I solve it?

     Reply

     • zazu July 7, 2022 At 9:21 pm

       dont keep the time more then 7 mins like if u send the msg at 2:53 pm u set the time 2:54 or 2:55 pm then you can easily delete those msgs and dont forget to turn ur data connection or wifi off thats the most crucial part of the process. Thanks

       Reply

   • Jess November 10, 2021 At 1:32 am

     Having the same trouble, did you figure it out please?

     Reply

2. Amy August 12, 2021 At 6:14 am

   After following the steps above it still doesn’t give the option to delete for everyone?

   Reply

3. Deepa August 25, 2021 At 12:17 pm

   Help , after I set the steps above it still doesn’t give the option to delete for everyone? How

   Reply

4. pranav September 1, 2021 At 2:00 pm

   Is this relevant for group chat

   Reply

5. mita September 6, 2021 At 11:14 am

   Can someone else delete the message sent on the group chat after an hour? Like the admin?

   Reply

   • Steve September 7, 2021 At 9:18 pm

     Not for the group, at this time.

     Reply

6. Bad Man Inc. November 7, 2021 At 4:00 pm

   After all the prompts,it says your time is inaccurate and can’t open the watsup icon to delete msg..what’s the solution to this?

   Reply

7. Bad Man Inc. November 7, 2021 At 4:09 pm

   It ain’t working as shown..and no answers given by owners of the innovation…

   Reply

8. Goddess November 14, 2021 At 12:44 pm

   I follow all the instructions but at the end it says your phone data inaccurate it wouldn’t let me open whatsapp to delet the messages

   Reply

9. Ali November 14, 2021 At 12:52 pm

   I did follow all the instructions but at the end it says ur phone data is inacurate and it wouldn’t let me to whatsapp to delet the messages! Need help with that

   Reply

10. Jack Blend December 26, 2021 At 3:04 am

    Great article. It was very helpful. Keep ’em coming.

    Reply

11. Ambadas Huchche January 30, 2022 At 11:26 am

    I attempted sevral times. Everytime the app sets in the proportionate lapsed time of the message so that the option ‘delete for everyone never appears.

    Reply

12. Andrei Alexandru Agopian March 4, 2022 At 4:32 am

    Good post, it fixed my issue. What I did extra was to also clear the cache on WhatsApp, otherwise it wouldn’t give me the delete for everyone option

    Reply

13. Jac April 19, 2022 At 9:34 pm

    I did this from android and it worked for the chat I wanted to delete, but then I tested the method on my own other number, and it did not delete the message on the recipient phone. Anyone can confirm if this method actually works?

    Reply

14. Brainy April 20, 2022 At 11:46 pm

    I used this method with my phone an iphone and the other person a samsung galaxy. I got the option to delete for everyone and I did but recipient still has the messages on his phone.

    Reply

15. John April 29, 2022 At 8:15 am

    The writer of this article Diaz Frank doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Looking at people’s comments these steps dont work. Didn’t work for me either.

    Reply

16. Aathikrishna June 13, 2022 At 7:53 am

    Great article! Worked for me.

    Reply

17. Jay June 26, 2022 At 12:31 am

    Says phone date is inaccurate and won’t let me open WhatsApp

    Reply

18. Josh Matambo October 9, 2022 At 2:47 pm

    How do I delete the messages on the other phone which were sent from my iPhone

    Reply

    • S K October 11, 2022 At 9:48 am

      The message will automatically delete if you manage to delete the message from your phone within the time limit or with the trick above.

      Why can't I delete for everyone on WhatsApp group?

      In order for messages to be successfully deleted for everyone, you and the recipients must be using the latest version of WhatsApp. Recipients using WhatsApp for iOS may still have media you sent saved to their Photos, even after the message is deleted from the WhatsApp chat.

      Can you delete a WhatsApp message for everyone after time limit in a group?

      In fact, WhatsApp users will have 2 days and 12 hours to delete their messages. Users can delete the message just for themselves or request that messages be deleted for everyone. Deleting messages for everyone allows one to delete specific messages they have sent to an individual or group chat.

      How can an admin delete a WhatsApp message for everyone in a group?

      Open WhatsApp and go to the chat containing the message you want to delete. Tap and hold the message. Tap Delete > Delete for Everyone > OK.