Can I delete my messages?
Yes, and more thoroughly than most people expect. In a one-to-one chat you can delete any message, including ones the other person sent, for both sides. Deleted messages leave no trace at all, not even a "message deleted" marker.
What you can delete
| Where | What you can remove for everyone |
|---|---|
| One-to-one chat | Any message, yours or theirs, with no time limit |
| Group | Your own messages. Administrators can remove others' |
| Entire chat | The whole history, on both sides |
How
- Press and hold the message, or right-click it on desktop.
- Choose Delete.
- Tick Also delete for the other person.
- To clear everything, open the chat list, press and hold the chat, and choose to clear the history for both sides.
Why it leaves no marker
A "this message was deleted" placeholder still communicates something: that there was a message, when it was sent, and that it was withdrawn. Combined with the privacy setting for forwarded messages, removing the trace entirely is what makes a Telegram exchange closer to a spoken conversation, where nothing is recorded unless somebody chose to record it.
Deleting removes the message from Telegram. It cannot remove a screenshot somebody already took, or a copy on a device you do not control. Deletion is a cleanup tool, not a recall.