Are you concerned that a Snapchat user could save your confidential message? Read on to learn how to delete Snapchat messages saved by your recipients.
Snapchat is a popular social media app that allows you to take photos, add text and drawings, and send them to friends. Once you send a photo on Snapchat, it disappears after a few seconds. This feature makes it so no one can save or screenshot the messages you send them.
However, there are some people who still manage to save these disappearing messages by taking screenshots with their phones or tablets. If they do so, they will be able to use these screenshots in any way they want – including blackmailing you into doing something else they want!
So, if someone takes a screenshot of the message while it's still visible onscreen, they can save it forever. But there are ways around this if you don't want people saving your snaps:
How to Delete Messages on Snapchat that the Other Person Saved
Snapchat messages are supposed to be temporary, but since some people have found ways to save them, this can almost be a cause for alarm when you share confidential information with the wrong person.
However, there's no need for alarm because there are different approaches to deleting such messages. However, you must know that the method is only limited to the messages you send on Snapchat. So, you can't use the same procedure to delete the messages sent by the other user in the conversation.
These methods include:
Conventional Method
Here's how to do it:
Step 1: Open and log into your Snapchat account.
Step 2: Scroll through and go to the desired chat.
Step 3: If you had saved the message on your end, you'd need to touch the message and click on the [Unsave option].
Step 4: Touch and Long press the message once more to reveal the [Save in Chat, Snap Reply, Delete & Copy] options.
Step 5: Click on the [Delete] option to remove the Snapchat message.
Snapchat will prompt you with [Delete], [Learn More] and [Cancel] options. You now need to go ahead and click on the [Delete] option. You can, however, click on [Learn more] just to view what Snapchat does to ensure the message is deleted from the other person's end.
Account Deletion Method
Despite Snapchat being a popular and convenient messaging platform for many, deleting your account may not be an option when it comes to the fact that your privacy is on the line. If there is a message that could break you, of course, you wouldn't mind going as far as deleting the account to reinstate your privacy, as long as it deletes the message on the other end.
You must also know that once you request to delete your account, Snapchat will automatically deactivate the account. So the other user won't have any chat data from you. The deactivation, however, lasts for only 30 days.
After these, the account data will be deleted automatically, including your saved conversations and snaps.
So to delete your account, you'll need to:
Step 1: Launch the Snapchat website and sign in with your password.
Step 2: Once you are successfully signed in, several options will be under the [Manage My Account] tab.
Step 3: Click on the [Delete Account] option.
Step 4: Tap on the [Continue] tab to delete the account.
You will have successfully removed all snaps and conversations from your Snapchat contacts. However, it will take 30 days for all the data to be deleted permanently. So, if you won't mind the waiting period, feel free to go on with the deletion.
However, if you change your mind, you'll need to reactivate the account before the 30-day period elapses to prevent the permanent deletion. The good thing is the other user won't be notified about your account reactivation.
Use Third-Party App
You must know that Third-party apps that claim to help you delete Snapchat messages saved by the other person do not come directly from Snapchat developers.
So, Snapchat has a set of Terms and Conditions that it has implemented to restrict users' use of Third-party apps for safety concerns. If you wish to go ahead and use any of these applications, however, you are required to ensure that you have first read Snapchat's rules regarding the subject.
Once you are ready to search for these apps, you might want to go for apps such as iMyFone Umate Pro, and Syncios iOS Data Eraser, among many others.
How to Fix the Deletion Failure
If all of the procedures above have failed (although it's quite rare), the guide below will help you fix anything that may prevent either procedure from functioning.
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Confirm You Have a Working Internet Connection
Most Snapchat users are often fond of trying to delete the messages before turning on their data or connecting to Wi-Fi Networks. Of course, the deletion won't be possible since Snapchat only works over a strong and reliable internet connection.
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Check for Recent Snapchat Updates
New features will sometimes be made available on the Snapchat platform; however, you will need to have the most recent program version to use these features. If you are using an earlier version of the Snapchat app, it is possible that you will not have access to the new features, which may include the instructions that would walk you through the process of deleting the messages.
If you have an Android smartphone, make sure you have the most recent version of the Snapchat app downloaded from the Google Play Store. Users of iOS devices will need to download the most recent version of the program from the Apple AppStore.
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Restart Your Mobile Device
If none of the previous solutions has worked for you, the problem could be a software glitch on your phone. If this is the case, you should try turning off and then restarting your phone before trying to delete the messages again.
How to Automatically Delete Messages on Snapchat?
Snapchat's feature to automatically delete messages sent on the platform can be useful in many situations, such as when you want to ensure an embarrassing message you sent someone does not get saved on their phone. It's quite a simple process that you should, of course, have set on your account. Here's how to do it:
Step 1: Long press the message on the chat column.
Step 2: Click on the [Chat Settings] option.
Step 3: Touch the [Delete Chats] option.
Step 4: Choose your preferred time frame, [After viewing] or [24 hours After Viewing].
Once these options are set, all Snapchat messages you send will automatically be deleted based on your set preferences. You must, however, note that this option only works before you send the message; you can't use it to delete messages that were already sent before configuring this setting.
FAQs
1. Can I prevent others from saving my messages on Snapchat?
No, there is no configuration option in Snapchat that would prevent other users from saving your messages. The only method to prevent someone from saving your messages is to either delete them yourself or make sure that your snaps do not include anything that might put your privacy at risk.
2. Can I delete someone's saved messages on Snapchat by removing a contact?
No, you can't. Unfortunately, if you choose the option to [Remove a Friend] from your contacts list, it will not affect the chats you have already had with that person. Therefore, the previous conversations you had with this individual are still accessible to them.
So removing a friend is not a way to delete your Snapchat messages saved by the other user.
3. Can I delete someone's saved messages on Snapchat by blocking them?
No, blocking a user will not remove any stored messages from their Snapchat.
Blocking another Snapchat user will only prevent their messages and snaps from reaching your inbox in the future. However, despite your best efforts, the individual you blocked will continue to have access to your conversations. So they can view them and use them as they would want.
4. Will there be a notification after deleting saved messages?
Yes, there will be a notification. If you wouldn't want to notify the other person that you deleted the message, you may need to be aware of this. Once you delete a saved Snapchat message, the platform notifies you and the other person about you deleted the message.
On your end, the notification will be:
[YOU DELETED A CHAT]On the other user's end, the notification will be:
[…(your username) DELETED A CHAT]Conclusion
So there you have it. A list of ways to delete messages on Snapchat that the other person saved. Hopefully, you'll be prepared the next time you accidentally open yourself up to embarrassment with a friend or family member. Sometimes living in the digital age has its unsavory moments; hopefully, this will help.
