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Most of us have become accustomed to typing fast on our phones, whether we’re sending texts, responding to a DM on a social media platform, or posting TikTok comments.
That’s usually a good thing, but we probably don’t have to tell you that there’s a downside to “speed” typing on your phone or device. You occasionally wind up sending a message that you weren’t sure was exactly what you wanted to say, or sending it to the wrong person.
In a panic, you try to delete the message — but on most phones, devices, and apps, you don’t get a “take back” once you’ve hit “send.”
Does it work that way on TikTok? Or can you delete a message you’ve mistakenly sent?
The Limitations of TikTok Message Deletion
You may see some “expert” forum posts claiming that you can delete a TikTok message that’s already been sent if you take action within three minutes, or by deleting your TikTok app and then reinstalling it.
We hate to deliver the bad news, but those “experts” are wrong. Once a message has been sent via DM on TikTok, it’s too late for a do-over. The recipient, even if you messaged the wrong TikTok user, will be able to see what you’ve typed (or dictated). Only they can delete it from their Inbox; it’s out of your hands.
When it comes to deleting TikTok messages, unfortunately, all you can do is remove messages from your TikTok Inbox and your existing chats. That’s not a bad thing to do from time to time, though; here’s how to do it.
How to Delete a Single TikTok Message
The spring (or summer, or fall, or winter) cleaning of your Inbox takes very little time, because you can delete messages you’ve received or sent with just a few clicks. (Remember, this won’t remove the messages from the other person’s TikTok account.)
- Tap the “Inbox” icon at the bottom of your home screen.
- Find and click on the chat that includes the message you want to delete.
- Long-press (press and hold) the message that you want to remove, and you’ll see a popup that contains the “Delete” option. Tap it, and the message will be gone from your inbox.
This works for both messages you’ve sent and received.
Deleting An Entire Chat
If you want to remove an entire TikTok chat from your stream, the process is similar.
Simply long-press the chat targeted for deletion, and choose “Delete” from the popup window. All of the messages in the stream will be removed from your Inbox (but again, not from the other user’s Inbox).
It would be great if you had the option to “cancel” a message once it’s mistakenly been sent, but the tech simply doesn’t work that way. A cleanup of your Inbox is the best you can do.
About the Author
Peter Hasselworth is a contributor at iDigic, sharing valuable insights about Instagram growth and social media marketing strategies.