Those most jealous of their privacy have the habit of keeping on their devices only those data that are strictly essential to function day to day. For example, they regularly clear their internet browsing history and delete files they no longer need. And they also prefer delete your WhatsApp conversation history. Here we are going to explain how to do it.
It is not just a question of security and privacy: WhatsApp files can take up considerable space in the storage of our device. Especially if we make daily and intense use of this application.
Performing this simple operation is really easy. Almost all of us have deleted individual messages and even entire conversations on WhatsApp. The following is more or less the same, although also It is important to be sure before taking the step, since important information can be lost along the way.
Before you start: the backup
This is one of the big doubts that arise and that often stops us from thinking about deleting conversation history on WhatsApp. For our peace of mind, we must know that every day at 2 in the morning WhatsApp makes a Backup. This copy is stored on our smartphone the files corresponding to our conversations from the last 7 days.
In addition to this backup covers at most one week of our activity in the application, it should be noted that The information is not saved on WhatsApp servers. That means that if we lose our cell phone or it is stolen, everything is lost. Such is the importance of backups.
So, before deleting the conversation history on WhatsApp, it is very advisable to make a complete backup. This is how we can do it, on iPhone and Android:
On iPhone
These are the steps to make a copy of our WhatsApp files and keep them in iCloud:
- First of all, we open the app WhatsApp.
- Then we go to the menu Adjustments
- There we first select the tab Chats and calls and then Chat copy.
- Finally, we select the option Back up now.
On Android
This is the procedure to activate the backup or backup to WhatsApp with an Android device:
- To begin, we open WhatsApp and click on the three point icon, at the top right of the screen, to access the options menu.
- From the options shown in the drop-down menu, select Settings.
- On the new screen, we select Cat.
- Then we choose the option Backup and there we establish our preferences:
- Run the copy through Google Drive account or not.
- Choose the frequency of the automatic backup (daily, weekly, monthly...).
- If we want to do it through WiFi or data.
- Select whether or not to save the videos, which will logically affect the size of the copy.
Delete WhatsApp conversation history
Once the backup issue has been resolved and we are calm that we are not going to lose the information, let's see what Options We have to delete our WhatsApp conversations. Maybe what we need is to delete just one message or conversation, instead of the entire conversation history. Let's look at both alternatives:
Delete only one message or chat
Perhaps the following actions are enough to preserve our privacy: hide or make disappear a conversation or message that we do not want to be read by anyone else:
- To delete a message, all you have to do is press your finger for a few seconds on the message we want to delete. When the options menu opens, we can choose between “Delete for me” or “Delete for everyone”.
- To delete an entire chat or conversation, you have to keep the chat pressed with your finger. Then click on the trash can icon at the top right of the screen.
Delete entire history
This is the most radical and far-reaching solution, because it means that all traces of our previous conversations disappear. These are the steps to follow to delete WhatsApp history:
- Firstly, We open the application and go to the chats tab.
- Then we click on the three point icon which, as we already know, is located at the top right of the screen
- We select the option of Configuration.
- Then we will Cat and, within this option, we choose chat history.
- Next, the Delete all chats button appears. You have to press it and then confirm the action by selecting delete chat.
Once we complete this procedure, all our chats will be empty. But the information will not be lost, since we will be able to recover it whenever we want or need it thanks to the backup we made previously.