GroupMe is a popular group messaging app that makes it easy to communicate with groups of people. Over time, the message history in your GroupMe groups can pile up with old messages and inside jokes. While this history can be fun to scroll back through, there may be times when you or your group want to remove old messages.
Fortunately, GroupMe gives group members and admins a few options to delete messages and clear chat history. Here’s what you need to know.
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Deleting Individual Messages
If you just want to remove a few specific messages, the easiest option is to delete them individually:
- Open the GroupMe app and navigate to the group with the messages you want to delete.
- Tap and hold the message you want to delete. A menu will appear.
- Tap “Delete” to remove the message.
- Repeat this for any other messages you want to delete.
Only you can see the “Delete” option for your own messages. Group admins also have the ability to delete anyone’s messages in the group.
Clearing Chat History as a Group Admin
If you’re an admin of the group, you have the ability to clear the entire chat history:
- Open the GroupMe group and tap on the group name at the top of the screen.
- Tap “Group Settings”.
- Scroll down and tap “Clear Chat History”.
- Confirm that you want to clear the entire history.
This will wipe all messages, photos, links, and other content that has been posted in the group previously. It’s great for a fresh start, but use it carefully since everything will be erased.
Leaving a Group to Clear History
If you’re not the admin, another option is to remove yourself from the group:
- Open the GroupMe app and tap on the group you want to leave.
- Tap on the group name at the top of the screen to open settings.
- Scroll down and tap “Leave Group”. Confirm when prompted.
When you voluntarily leave a GroupMe group, your chat history and messages will be erased from your perspective. However, they will still be visible to current group members. So this mainly clears things up on your end if you want to eliminate the messages.
Asking the Admin to Remove You
Rather than leaving yourself, you can also request for an admin to remove you from the group:
- Let the admin know you would like to be removed from the group.
- Once they remove you, your access to the group and its chat history will be eliminated.
This achieves the same effect of clearing your view of the previous GroupMe chat while still allowing you to potentially be re-added later. The messages stay in the group from the perspective of remaining members.
Using GroupMe Delete For All Feature
GroupMe has a “Delete For All” option that admins can enable. This allows any member to delete their own messages, and the deletions sync across the group:
- Have an admin navigate to Group Settings > Message Settings.
- They should enable “Delete For All” so members can delete messages.
- Now when any user deletes their message, it will be removed for everyone in the group.
This gives group members more control over removing their own sent messages. But it still only applies to each person’s own content, not everything in the chat.
Resetting Chat History with a New Group
If none of the above options work, the nuclear option is to create an entirely new group:
- Have an admin create a new GroupMe group and add the same members.
- Encourage members to rejoin the new group chat with no previous history.
While messy, this ensures a completely fresh start for your circle’s GroupMe messaging. Just make sure to notify all members about the group switch.
Third-Party Apps to Delete GroupMe History
There are also some third-party apps that claim to be able to delete GroupMe chat history:
- Chat History Delete for GroupMe (iPhone, Android)
- Delete Message for GroupMe (Android)
However, be cautious when using third-party apps, as GroupMe does not officially endorse them. Make sure to check reviews and ratings first, as some may be scam apps. Their features and reliability can vary.
Can You Permanently Delete GroupMe Messages?
While the steps above can remove messages from your own view or your group’s view, it’s important to note that GroupMe likely still retains chat history on their servers. So the messages are not necessarily deleted forever from GroupMe databases.
If you shared personal or private information that you now want permanently erased, it’s best to contact GroupMe support to request deletion. But there is no guarantee they can fully and permanently scrub chat data from their systems.
So in summary:
- You can delete individual messages or clear a group’s entire history from members’ views
- History can also be cleared on your end by removing yourself from a group
- For permanent deletion, you’d have to contact GroupMe Support with no guarantee
