On a scale of zero to utterly cringeworthy, sending an Instagram DM to one friend containing a meme you meant to send to another maybe rates a four. Sending that meme to your ex’s ex that you don’t even follow on IG deserves at least a seven. And accidentally sending six pictures of your cat being cute to the hiring manager at the startup you want to work for earns a solid 10: utter cringe!

The good news is that no matter how high the cringe factor of your erroneous message is, you can remedy the situation if you’re quick. Learn how to delete Instagram messages on your mobile and desktop.

How to delete select messages on Instagram for iOS and Android

OK, not everyone wants to delete an IG message because they sent something embarrassing to their boss. Some people simply want to clean up their chats. Whatever the reason for doing some housekeeping on the ’gram, this cleaning is far easier than washing a sink of dishes or mopping your floors. You can delete an Instagram DM in just five steps. Here’s how to delete Instagram messages on iPhones and Android phones:

1. Open the Instagram App.
2. Click on the Instagram direct messaging icon in the top right corner of the screen to open your chats.
3. Tap on the chat containing the message you want to delete.
4. Hold down on the message. A horizontal menu will pop up at the bottom of the screen.
5. Tap the Unsend option to remove this individual message from the chat.

Easy? Yes, but there’s a caveat. The Instagram user(s) in this chat may have already seen the message. If they haven’t, you’re in luck because they never will. The moral of this story is to think twice before you DM and make sure you don’t accidentally select multiple or incorrect recipients for your message.

Delete an Instagram message on your computer

So you’re on the desktop version of the ’gram, and you send the wrong message to the wrong person. You find yourself opening up a new tab in your browser and googling “how to delete messages on Instagram from both sides.” After all, deleting a message you don’t want someone to see does no good if it only disappears on your side of the conversation. It’s like accidentally clicking on “Delete for me” instead of “Delete for everyone” when eradicating a message on WhatsApp and questioning your entire existence. However, in Instagram’s case, when you unsend a DM, no one on any side of the chat can view the message. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open Instagram in your web browser of choice.
2. Navigate to the DM symbol located at the top of the page.
3. Select the Instagram conversation containing the message you want to delete.
4. Tap on the (…) symbol.
5. Select Unsend.

How to delete chats on Instagram

If you fall into the camp of people simply wanting to do some IG spring cleaning, you may not just be interested in deleting a single message but a whole chat. But the catch here is that deleting a chat only clears these messages from your inbox. So, if you thought your chat would vanish from your ex’s Instagram, we’re sorry, but that won’t happen.

Delete an Instagram chat on iPhone and Android

1. Open the Instagram app.
2. Click the message icon in the upper left corner of the screen to view your Instagram direct messages.
3. Find the conversation you’d like to delete.
4. Hold down on the conversation and slide your finger to the left. An option to delete the chat will appear in red. You’ll also see the option to mute the chat. If you simply want a break from this conversation but don’t want to lose all your previous messages, you can select the mute option. But if you want to completely eliminate the chat, choose Delete.
5. A pop-up will appear asking if you want to delete the chat permanently. Tap Delete.

Delete an Instagram chat on the web

1. Log into your Instagram account on your web browser of choice.
2. Navigate to your DM inbox.
3. Find the chat you want to delete.
4. Tap on the “i” symbol in the top right of your chat.
5. Choose Delete.

FAQs

If you’re desperately trying to delete some messages, chances are you have some last-minute questions. You want to ensure you’re covering all your bases, which is smart. The following are some common FAQs about deleting messages on the ’gram to get you up to speed on how this function within the app works.

Does Instagram allow you to unsend multiple DMs at once?

You can only delete messages one by one on Instagram, so you’ll have to delete each photo of your cat you sent to that hiring manager on its own.

Can I delete Instagram messages from both sides?

Yes. Individually deleted Instagram messages disappear for anyone in the conversation, but if you delete an entire conversation, this change only affects you.

How can I delete a message someone else has sent me?

There’s no easy way to unsend messages someone else has sent you unless you ask the sender to follow the steps described above. That said, if you’re getting unwanted contact or being harassed, you can flag messages by following the same steps you would delete a message. However, in this case, you’ll tap on Report. You could even delete the entire chat to keep your inbox clean.

Is the other person notified when I delete an Instagram message or chat?

You’re in the clear if you’ve accidentally sent a message and later deleted it. The other user won’t receive a notification that you’ve deleted the message, nor will they be able to see that the message was ever there. If they’ve already read the message, however, it’s too late. As for entire chats, the other user won’t know if you deleted them because the conversation only disappears from the deleter’s inbox.

Wrapping up

It was easy, wasn’t it?

Although we’re usually all about sharing best practices to up your engagement, drive traffic to your e-commerce site or write a banging bio, we thought we’d drop some knowledge that’ll save you a dose of embarrassment.

Remember, most social media platforms like Snapchat and Facebook Messenger follow a different approach to deleting single messages and whole conversations, but Instagram’s pretty straightforward. So the next time you get a mini panic attack after inadvertently sending the wrong message to a stranger on Instagram, you know what to do.