How To Delete Chat in Microsoft Teams

This article teaches you how to delete individual messages and chat history on Microsoft Teams, hide chats, and deal with the limitations involved within Microsoft Teams. 

How To Delete Individual Messages in Teams

Deleting chat history on Teams is a little complicated. Depending on the channel, you might not be able to delete all messages. Plus, you can only delete individual messages within a thread; you can't wipe out the entire chat in one action. Here's how to delete a Teams chat for those times when it's possible.

1. Open Microsoft Teams.

2. Click the chat thread with the messages you wish to delete.

3. Hover over the message you wish to delete.

   

4. Click the ellipsis that appears.

   

5. Click Delete to remove the message.

6. The other person will now see 'This message was deleted' instead of the original message.

7. To undo the deletion, click Undo.

   

How To Delete a Full Chat History in Teams

It's not possible to delete an entire Microsoft Teams chat thread with a click of a button, but it is possible to hide the chat if you wish to tidy up your Chat threads on Teams.

1. Open Microsoft Teams.

2. Click Chat.

   

3. Right-click the chat you wish to hide.

4. Click Hide.

   

5. The chat is now hidden from sight.

6. To bring it back, search for the name of the user in the search bar.

   

7. Right-click the chat and click Unhide.

   

How To Delete a Team Chat in Microsoft Teams

If you're an administrator of a Microsoft Teams team, you can remove all the posts between its members in one click by deleting the entire channel. Obviously, this isn't possible for regular members, but it's a useful skill to know if you manage a team. Here's how to do it.

1. Open Microsoft Teams.

2. Click Teams.

   

3. Right-click the Team name.

4. Click Delete the team.

   

5. Click I understand that everything will be deleted.

   

6. Click Delete team.

   

What Limitations Are There When Deleting Messages in Microsoft Teams

Designed with institutional memory in mind, Microsoft Teams makes it trickier to delete messages and chat threads than other messaging apps. Here's what to bear in mind before you try to delete anything.

• You can't delete other people's messages. Unless you're an admin, you can't delete another person's chats - even to hide them from your view.
• Not all Teams allow you to delete your messages. Not every team will enable you to delete your messages. Some only allow you to edit them rather than delete them entirely. If the delete option isn't there, there's nothing you can do about it.
• Hiding or muting a channel is an option. If you want to keep Microsoft Teams neater, you can choose to hide or mute a channel so there's less virtual clutter. It won't delete anything, but it does mean you don't have to look at it.