Is Slack DM Deletion Possible? Learn About Deletion Methods and Administrator Permissions

Deleting Direct Messages (DMs) in Slack

This guide explains how to delete direct messages (DMs) in Slack.

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Conditions of Use

• Available in the free version

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• You cannot delete other people's messages; you can only delete messages you have written.
• Request the other person to delete the message directly.

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• Regarding the deletion of other people's messages, the owner or administrator can set whether deletion is possible or not after a certain period, and this is possible through the permission settings (see notes below).

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• If deletion is disabled in the permission settings, you cannot delete the DM yourself. (In other words, the administrator can prevent deletion).

How to Use

1. Go to the chat window containing the message you want to delete.

2. Hover your mouse over your message to display a list of icons in the upper right corner.

3. Click the [three dots button] (called 'More actions'), and then click [Delete message] at the bottom.

4. A confirmation window will appear. Click [Delete] to delete the message.

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Additional Notes

• Even with administrator privileges, you cannot delete other people's messages in DMs; deleting other people's messages is only possible in public channels.
• There is only one way to delete other people's messages in DMs.
  • The owner or administratoraccesses [Workspace Settings].

• In [Settings & Permissions], under [Message History], set 'Direct Messages' to 'Delete messages after a specific period'.
• Messages will then be automatically deleted after a certain period.

• However, please note that this deletes all DMs for everyone, not just DMs with a specific person.
• Wondering when an administrator or owner can view DMs? That's covered in another article.