You can delete your own Discord messages on an iPhone with a long press. It works the same way in servers, group chats, and direct messages, and the message disappears for everyone. What you can’t do is delete other people’s messages in a DM or wipe a whole conversation at once. This guide covers deleting a message, removing a DM conversation from your list, deleting other people’s messages in a server you moderate, and what to know before you delete.
Quick answer
Open the chat, press and hold your message, tap Delete Message, and confirm with Delete.
How to delete a message on Discord for iPhone
Step 1: Open the conversation
Open the Discord app and go to the server channel, group chat, or direct message that has the message you want to remove.
Step 2: Press and hold the message
Touch and hold your message for a moment until a menu slides up from the bottom of the screen.
Step 3: Tap Delete Message
Scroll down in the menu if needed and tap Delete Message, shown in red.
Step 4: Confirm
Tap Delete in the confirmation box. The message disappears for everyone in the chat.
Edit instead of delete
If you just made a typo, press and hold the message and tap Edit Message. Fix the text and tap the send button. Discord shows “(edited)” next to the message, but the rest of the conversation stays intact.
Remove a DM conversation from your list
Discord doesn’t let you delete an entire DM history. You can hide the conversation from your messages list:
- Tap the Messages icon at the bottom of the screen.
- Press and hold the conversation.
- Tap Close DM.
This only removes it from your list. The messages still exist, and the other person still sees them. If they message you again, the conversation reappears with its history.
Delete other people’s messages in a server
If you’re a server owner or have a role with the Manage Messages permission, press and hold anyone’s message in that server and tap Delete Message. You can’t delete other people’s messages in DMs or group DMs, even if you created the group.
What about deleting many messages at once?
Discord doesn’t have a built-in option to bulk-delete your own messages. Some third-party tools and scripts claim to do it by logging in as you, but automating a regular user account goes against Discord’s terms of service and can get your account banned. For servers, moderation bots added by an admin can clear messages in channels they control.
Things to know before deleting
- It’s permanent. There’s no undo or trash folder for deleted messages.
- Others may have seen it. Deleting a message removes it from Discord, but people may have read it, screenshotted it, or received it in a notification.
- Replies stay. If someone replied to your message, their reply stays, with a note that the original was deleted.
- Attachments go too. Deleting a message removes any image or file attached to it.
Troubleshooting
- No Delete option: It’s not your message, and you don’t have Manage Messages permission in that server.
- The menu won’t appear: Make sure you’re holding the message text itself, not a link or image. Update Discord from the App Store if it still doesn’t work.
- Message comes back: Force close Discord and reopen it. The deletion may not have synced if you were offline.
Frequently asked questions
Does the other person know I deleted a message?
Discord doesn’t send a notification, but they might notice it’s gone if they saw it first.
Can I delete messages on the Discord desktop app?
Yes. Hover over your message, click the three-dot menu that appears, and choose Delete Message. Holding Shift while clicking the trash icon skips the confirmation box. If the desktop app acts up, our guide on clearing the Discord cache can help.
Can I delete messages on iPad the same way?
Yes. The steps are the same in the Discord app for iPad. New to Discord on Apple devices? See how to use Discord on iPhone or iPad.
Summary
- Open the chat.
- Press and hold your message.
- Tap Delete Message and confirm.
- Use Close DM to hide a conversation from your list.
Kermit Matthews is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with more than a decade of experience writing technology guides. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Science and has spent much of his professional career in IT management.
He specializes in writing content about iPhones, Android devices, Microsoft Office, and many other popular applications and devices.