How to delete chat in Microsoft Teams
Messaging apps are a fairly simple way of keeping a record of a conversation. The messages that are sent/received remain on the device or synced to a cloud storage service allowing a long history of messages to be stored.
Messages can of course be deleted but generally, they’re not deleted for everyone. They are only deleted for the user who has deleted the message. A user can delete a message they’ve sent and they can delete a message that has been sent to them but the message is only removed on one side and not for everyone.
Delete chat in Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams isn’t a messaging app. It’s an online meeting and collaboration tool that offers messaging as an added feature.
Since Microsoft Teams is geared more towards work and productivity, it treats messages and how they’re deleted differently.
- A user can delete a message from a team’s channel at any time provided they are the ones who sent it. Once the message is deleted, it will be removed for everyone i.e. from the entire channel.
- Other users will not be able to see if a message has been deleted. It will simply cease to exist.
- Messages can also be deleted from one-on-one chats. The same rules as above will apply.
Delete Chat in Microsoft Teams channel
To delete a chat or conversation in a Microsoft Teams channel, follow these steps.
- Open Microsoft Teams.
- Select Teams from the column on the left.
- Select the channel you sent a message over.
- Click the more options button next to your message.
- Select the Delete option.
- The message will be deleted.
On mobile;
- Open Microsoft Teams.
- Go to Teams.
- Select the channel you want to delete a message from.
- Tap the three dots button.
- Select Delete Message
Delete Chat in Microsoft Teams – Single thread
To delete a chat in Microsoft Teams from a single one-on-on thread, follow these steps.
- Open Microsoft Teams.
- Select Chat from the bar on the left.
- Select the thread you want to delete the chat message from.
- Click the more options button next to the message.
- Select Delete message.
On mobile;
- Open the Microsoft Teams app.
- Go to Chats.
- Select a chat thread.
- Tap the more options button next to the message you want to delete.
- Select Delete message.
- The message will be deleted.
Conclusion
As always, proof of a conversation can always be saved with a screenshot. This feature allows users to remove irrelevant information and keep a channel clean. Microsoft Teams should have some sort of log that allows users to know when a message has been deleted so that they do not keep looking for it but since it doesn’t, it may be a good idea to let others know when you delete a message.
