What Happens to Deleted Messages on Microsoft Teams

Download Article

What others will see when you delete your Teams messages

Written by Stan Kats | Edited by Hannah Dillon

Last Updated: February 25, 2026 Fact Checked

Download Article

Do deleted messages show?

|

How to Delete Messages

|

FAQ

|

Video

Have you ever sent a message in Teams that you wanted to delete, but you weren't sure if you should in case it notifies someone? If so, then rest assured—Teams won't send a notification if you delete a message. However, it will still show that the message has been deleted. In this article, we go over deleting messages on Teams, including how to do it and some FAQs. Keep reading to learn more.

Does it show if I delete a Teams message?

In place of your deleted message, the message will say "This message has been deleted." However, Teams doesn't notify anyone if a message gets deleted, so people will usually only see a deleted message if you delete a recent message near the bottom of a chat.

Section 1 of 3:

Do deleted messages show in Teams?

Download Article

Yes, but there's no notification. When you delete a message in Teams, the message's content will be replaced with a message that says "This message has been deleted."^{[1]
X
Research source} However, there is no notification that goes through when you delete a message. So, if you delete a recent message, there's a good chance the other person will see it, since it'll be in their recent messages with you. If you delete an old message, they're likely not going to notice it.
- Even if you delete a message, an admin still may be able to see it using the Microsoft Purview compliance portal.^{[2]
  X
  Research source}
- If an admin removes a message, you'll see "This message was deleted by an admin."
- If you can't delete messages, you may not have that permission. You'll need to contact your company's IT administrator for more information.

Section 2 of 3:

How to Delete Messages in Teams

Download Article

1
Locate the message you want to delete. If you sent the message a long time ago, you'll have to scroll up to find the message or search for it.
- These steps work for both Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Teams Free.^{[3]
  X
  Trustworthy Source
  
  Microsoft Support
  Technical support and product information from Microsoft.
  
  Go to source}
You should see some options pop up when you hover the message.
The message will now be deleted. In place of your message, everyone in the chat will see "This message has been deleted."^{[4]
X
Trustworthy Source

Microsoft Support
Technical support and product information from Microsoft.

Go to source}

Section 3 of 3:

FAQ

Download Article

1
If someone is removed from a group chat, can they see if messages are deleted? Once someone is removed from a group chat in Teams, they won't see any updates or changes to the chat that happened after they were removed. So, if a message was deleted before the user was removed from the group, they would still be able to see it. However, if a message was deleted after the user was removed, they won't see that the message was deleted.^{[5]
X
Research source}
2
Does clearing the chat history delete all the messages in a chat for everyone? No. Deleting chat history will only remove the messages on your side. The other user(s) in the conversation will still be able to see all of the messages.^{[6]
X
Research source}
3
Can I bulk delete messages in Teams? There's no built-in way to bulk delete messages in Microsoft Teams.^{[7]
X
Research source} However, you can use this tool from Redact to mass delete Teams messages. If you have administrative access, you can create a PowerShell script or use compliance policies that control message retention to mass delete messages.^{[8]
X
Research source}
4
How can I tell if someone deleted a Teams message? The only way to tell is to find the message and see if it says "This message has been deleted." Since Teams doesn't give notifications for deleted messages, you'll have to search for the messages yourself to see if they were deleted. If the message is newer, it will appear in the more recent chat messages near the bottom of the conversation. If it's an older message, you'll have to scroll or search for it.