How to clear chats on Instagram: A step-by-step guide

Instagram chats, popularly called DMs (direct messages), have become a hub for all things social – from catching up with friends to sharing funny memes and inside jokes. 

But with all that interaction comes the need for occasional housekeeping. Maybe you’re tired of scrolling through endless chat threads on your smartphone or perhaps you just want a fresh start. Whatever your reason might be, knowing how to clear Instagram chats can help you achieve a streamlined inbox and more organised space. 

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So here’s a simple guide to help you clear chats on Instagram, whether you want to delete a single conversation or bulk-manage your inbox.

How to clear chat on Instagram

Whether you want to delete a single conversation or clear multiple chats at once to organise or remove unwanted chats, follow these simple steps:

How to delete a single Instagram chat

1. Open the Instagram app and navigate to your Direct Messages (DM) inbox.

2. Locate the conversation you want to delete.

3. If you’re on an iPhone, then simply swipe left on the chat and tap “Delete”.

4. Android users will need to tap and hold on the desired chat and then select “Delete” from the pop-up menu.

How to delete multiple Instagram chats

1. Open your inbox and tap the “Edit” button (appears as three dots) in the top right corner.

2. Select the conversations you wish to delete by tapping the circle next to each chat.

3. Once you’ve chosen your targets, tap “Delete” at the bottom of the screen.

As of now, Instagram doesn’t offer a way to recover deleted messages. So, make sure you’re absolutely certain before hitting the “Delete” button as you won’t be able to recover them in the future.

Things to keep in mind before clearing chats on Instagram

Before hitting delete on your Instagram chats, there are a few key things to keep in mind. As mentioned earlier, once a message is gone, it’s gone for good. Instagram currently doesn’t offer a recovery option, so make sure you really want to go ahead with it. 

It’s also important to remember that deleting messages only removes them from your view. The person you chatted with still has their copy of the conversation, and they might have screenshots or recordings you don’t know about. 

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There’s also a difference between “unsend” and “delete.” “Unsend” removes the message for both you and the recipient, while “delete” only hides it from your inbox. To avoid accidental deletion of important chats, take a moment to double-check before hitting confirm. 

Finally, consider archiving chats instead of deleting them entirely. Archiving hides them from your main inbox but allows you to access them again in the future if needed