How to Delete a WhatsApp Group

When a group chat becomes too much

Shot of a diverse group of people holding up speech bubbles

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by Scott Orgera
Scott Orgera has been a tech journalist since 2007. He has 25+ years' experience as a programmer and QA leader and several Microsoft certifications.
Updated September 12, 2019

Group Chats in WhatsApp are a great way to collaborate with co-workers or just shoot the breeze with a party of family and friends, keeping the entire conversation organized on one screen.

If you’re the administrator of a WhatsApp group, you have the ability to delete that chat completely. If you’re simply a member, you can still choose to delete the group from your app, and therefore from your device.

How to Delete a WhatsApp Group as an Administrator

As an admin, you must first remove each individual member before the group itself can be deleted.

  1. Open WhatsApp and select the subject name of the group wish to delete.

  2. Tap the name of the group at the top of the screen.

  3. The Group Info interface should now be displayed. Scroll down to the Participants section and tap the name of the first person you wish to remove.

  4. A slide-out menu should appear from the bottom of the screen. Tap Remove from Group.

    Axe Capital, Group Info, Remove from Group

  5. A question will now replace the menu, asking you to confirm removal of this person. Tap Remove.

  6. Repeat steps 3-5 for each member of the group other than yourself.

  7. Tap Exit Group, located at the very bottom of the Group Info interface.

  8. Tap Exit Group again when the confirmation question appears.

    Screenshots illustrating how to remove someone from a group on WhatsApp.

  9. A message should now be displayed at the top of the screen indicating you’re no longer a participant in this group. Tap Delete Group, located at the bottom of the screen.

  10. Tap Delete Group again when the confirmation question appears. Your WhatsApp group should now be deleted.

    Screenshots illustrating how to delete a Group on WhatsApp.

How to Delete a WhatsApp Group as a Member

Unlike deleting a WhatsApp group as an admin, the group chat in question will still remain active without you as a member unless its administrator opts to delete it.

  1. Open WhatsApp and tap the subject name of the group you wish to delete.

  2. Tap the name of the group at the top of the screen.

  3. The Group Info interface should now be displayed. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and tap Exit Group.

  4. Tap Exit Group again when the confirmation question appears. The WhatsApp group should now be deleted from your device.

How to Clear a WhatsApp Group Chat

You don’t have to delete a group to clear its chat history, allowing you to wipe out any previous discussions while remaining an active member.

  1. Open WhatsApp and tap the subject name of the group you wish to clear.

  2. Tap the name of the group at the top of the screen.

  3. The Group Info interface should now be displayed. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and tap Clear Chat.

    If you’d like to make a backup your group’s chat log prior to erasing it, first tap Export Chat, then follow the on-screen prompts.

  4. A menu should now appear at the bottom of the screen containing two options along with a Cancel option.

  • Delete all except starred: Clears all messages from the group chat with the exception of those you’ve marked with a star.
  • Delete all messages: Will clear the entire chat log up until this point.