Quick answer
Open the chat, tap the contact or group name, tap Disappearing messages and choose Off. WhatsApp says anyone in the chat can turn it off, unless a group admin has limited that to admins. Deleted messages can’t be recovered unless they were in a backup.
Does this match what you see?
- Messages disappear from a chat after a day, a week or 90 days.
- You see “This message was deleted” or “This message was deleted by admin”.
- Delete for everyone isn’t showing as an option.
- A deleted photo is still in someone’s gallery.
iPhone & iPadAndroidComputer (browser)
Based on WhatsApp Help Center “About disappearing messages”, “How to turn disappearing messages on or off” (web, Android, iPhone, Mac), “How to turn disappearing messages on or off in a group” (web, Android, iPhone, Mac) and “How to delete messages” (web, Android, iPhone, Windows, Mac) (supplied by the site owner, 2026-10-30).
Why this happens: the possible causes
Why a message might be gone. Our own summary of WhatsApp’s pages.
| What you see | Usually because |
|---|---|
| Messages vanish after a set time | Disappearing messages is on |
| “This message was deleted” | The sender used Delete for everyone |
| “This message was deleted by admin…” | A group admin removed it |
| Gone only from your phone | Delete for me |
- Disappearing messages is turned onCheck this first
WhatsApp says messages can be set to disappear 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days after they’re sent, unless someone keeps them, for both senders and recipients.
Try these 60-second checks first
- Open the chat info and check what Disappearing messages is set to.
- Check Default message timer in Privacy: it may be applying a timer to new chats.
How to fix it, step by step
Work through these in order. They start with the quickest, safest checks and only move to steps that sign you out or remove data later.
Fix 1: Turn disappearing messages off (or on) in a chat
WhatsApp says anyone in a one-to-one chat can turn disappearing messages on or off. In groups, any member can by default, but a group admin can limit it to admins only.
iPhone & iPad
- Open the chat and tap the contact’s name or group name.
- Tap Disappearing Messages (tap Continue if asked).
- Choose Off, or 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days (if you choose a duration, tap the button WhatsApp shows to apply it).
Android
- Open the chat and tap the contact’s name or group name (or the icon WhatsApp shows there).
- Tap Disappearing messages (tap Continue if asked).
- Choose Off, or 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days, and tap to apply.
Computer (browser)
- Open the chat and click the contact’s name or group name.
- Click Disappearing messages (click Continue if asked).
- Choose Off, or a duration, and click to apply.
WhatsApp says the timer only affects new messages, not ones already sent or received. You can also turn it on when creating a new group. If you turn it off, you can no longer keep messages that were set to disappear.
Did it work? Our check: a notice in the chat shows the new setting.
Did Fix 1 solve it?
Great, you fixed it with Fix 1. Tell us it worked, or bookmark this page in case it happens again.
Fix 2: Turn the default timer for new chats on or off
WhatsApp says a default timer makes all new one-to-one chats use disappearing messages.
iPhone & iPad
- Tap Settings or your profile picture > Privacy > Default message timer.
- Choose a duration or Off. To apply it to existing chats too, select them and tap Apply.
Android
- Tap the icon WhatsApp shows at the top > Settings > Privacy > Default message timer.
- Choose a duration or Off. To apply it to existing chats too, select them and confirm.
Computer (browser)
- Click the icon WhatsApp shows, then Privacy > Default message timer.
- Choose a duration or Off, and optionally select existing chats to apply it to.
Did it work? Our check: Default message timer shows your choice.
Did Fix 2 solve it?
Great, you fixed it with Fix 2. Tell us it worked, or bookmark this page in case it happens again.
How disappearing messages work
- WhatsApp says messages disappear for both sender and recipients, including messages you send to yourself.
- If you don’t open WhatsApp in time, the message disappears, but its preview might still show until you open WhatsApp.
- A disappearing message forwarded to a chat with disappearing messages off won’t disappear there.
- A message quoted in a reply might stay visible after the time limit.
- If someone makes a backup before a message disappears, it’s included in the backup; it’s deleted when they restore.
- With disappearing messages on, media won’t be saved to your photos.
- WhatsApp says disappearing messages aren’t available in certain countries for payment or order-related messages; you can still delete those yourself.
Our note: people can still take screenshots or photos of the screen, so don’t rely on disappearing messages for anything you’d never want kept.
Keep a disappearing message
WhatsApp says anyone in a chat can keep a disappearing message before its time runs out. A kept message is visible to everyone and won’t disappear.
- The sender has the final say: they’re notified when someone keeps their message, and if they unkeep it, no one can keep it again.
- You have about 30 days to unkeep a message from when it was kept.
View once photos, videos and voice messages
WhatsApp says view once photos, videos and voice messages disappear from the chat after the recipient opens them once. You have to choose view once each time you send.
- Sender: once sent, you can’t view it again. You can only see if it was opened if the recipient has read receipts on.
- Recipient: open it within 14 days of it being sent, or it expires. You can’t forward, copy, save, star or share it, or screenshot it, and photos and videos aren’t saved to your Photos or Gallery.
- Backups: WhatsApp says view once media can be restored from a backup only if it was unopened when the backup was made.
- WhatsApp says encrypted media may be stored for a few weeks on its servers after sending, and if a recipient reports it, the media is provided to WhatsApp.
Delete for everyone and “This message was deleted”
WhatsApp says you can delete messages you sent for everyone in a one-to-one or group chat. They’re replaced with “This message was deleted”. Group admins can also delete other members’ messages, which shows “This message was deleted by admin [name]”. WhatsApp’s Windows and Mac pages say you (the sender) see “You deleted this message”.
- Android: tap and hold the message (tap more to select several), then tap Delete (trash can) > Delete for Everyone.
- iPhone: tap and hold the message > Delete (select more if you like), then tap Delete Message (trash can) > Delete for Everyone.
- Mac: hover over the message, click the menu button > Delete (select more if you like), then click the delete button > Delete for Everyone.
- Windows: right-click the message > Delete, select messages, click the delete button, then Delete for everyone.
- Web: open the message’s menu, then click Delete > Delete > Delete for everyone.
Want to fix a typo instead? WhatsApp says you can edit a message for up to 15 minutes after sending.
Delete for me
WhatsApp says Delete for me removes only your copy; others still see the message. On Android, tap and hold the message > Delete (trash can) > Delete for me; on iPhone, tap and hold > Delete > Delete Message (trash can) > Delete for Me. You then have 5 seconds to tap Undo; after that, the message can’t be recovered. Deletions sync across your devices that are online.
To delete lots of media from one chat, WhatsApp says open the chat info (tap or click the chat name) > Media, Links, and Docs, select items (Android: tap and hold; iPhone: tap Select first), then tap Delete (trash can; on iPhone Delete Message) > Delete for everyone. WhatsApp says there’s no way to delete all media from a chat in one step. For freeing space, see WhatsApp storage full.
Can deleted messages be recovered?
WhatsApp says there’s no way to get a deleted message back unless it was included in a backup, and that it can’t recover deleted messages for you. Our note: if your current backup was made before the message was deleted, restoring it may bring the message back. WhatsApp keeps only one backup per number, so a newer backup may already have replaced it, and disappearing messages are deleted when you restore. See WhatsApp backup and restore.
How to know it worked
- Our check: the chat shows the disappearing messages setting you chose.
Still not working? Your next steps
- Whole chats missing after a phone change? See WhatsApp backup not working.
Official help routes
SocialAppFix can’t see or change your account. For account decisions, recovery and appeals, only the platform’s own tools can help. These links go to the official sites.
- WhatsApp Help Center: About disappearing messagesWhatsApp Help Center (external site, opens in a new tab)
- WhatsApp Help Center: How to turn disappearing messages on or offWhatsApp Help Center (external site, opens in a new tab)
- WhatsApp Help Center: How to turn disappearing messages on or off in a groupWhatsApp Help Center (external site, opens in a new tab)
- WhatsApp Help Center: How to delete messagesWhatsApp Help Center (external site, opens in a new tab)
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to open a WhatsApp view once photo?
WhatsApp says you need to open it within 14 days of it being sent, or it expires from the chat.
Why are my WhatsApp messages disappearing?
Most likely disappearing messages is on for that chat, or a default message timer is set. WhatsApp says messages then disappear 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days after they’re sent.
Who can turn off disappearing messages in a group?
WhatsApp says anyone in the group, unless a group admin has limited that to admins only.
How long do I have to Delete for everyone?
WhatsApp’s web, Android, iPhone and Mac help pages say two days after you send the message. Its Windows page says about an hour. Our tip: delete as soon as you can.
Does Delete for everyone tell the other person?
The message is replaced with “This message was deleted”. WhatsApp says recipients might see the message before it’s deleted, and you won’t be told if deletion fails.
Can I recover a deleted WhatsApp message?
WhatsApp says only if it was included in a backup; it can’t recover deleted messages for you.
Did this solve your problem?
Your answer stays in your browser — nothing is sent or stored. The “tell us” link opens your own email app.
Out of date or didn’t work? Email us — never include passwords or codes.
Sources and how we checked this guide
We base steps on the platforms’ own help pages and the phone makers’ official guides. Menu names change often and can differ by device, app version and region. Where a platform page could not be independently read, we link it so you can check the current wording yourself.
- About view once (external site, opens in a new tab)
- About disappearing messages (external site, opens in a new tab)
- How to turn disappearing messages on or off (external site, opens in a new tab)
- How to turn disappearing messages on or off in a group (external site, opens in a new tab)
- How to delete messages (external site, opens in a new tab)
Last reviewed 30 October 2026 by the SocialAppFix editorial team against the sources above. Next scheduled review: 30 April 2027. How we write and review guides.
What changed
- 30 October 2026: First published.
SocialAppFix is an independent guide and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Meta or WhatsApp. We never ask for passwords, login codes or payment to fix an account.