Why doesn’t microsoft teams allow users to delete individual messages from other people only from their own view?

DAVID 0 Reputation points
2026-11-12T16:07:16.89+00:00

It’s surprising that such a basic feature is still missing, especially when similar functionality is available in many other messaging apps.

Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Teams for business | Chats | Other
0 comments

2 answers

Sort by: Oldest
Most helpful Newest Oldest

  1. AI answer

    2026-11-12T16:07:31.3666667+00:00

    Teams is designed so users can delete only messages they sent, not other people’s messages just from their own view.

    For business Teams, the supported behavior is:

    • Delete sent messages lets a user delete individual messages that they sent in chat.
    • Owners can delete sent messages lets owners delete messages or posts sent by users, excluding their own unless Delete Sent Messages is also enabled.
    • Delete chat removes an entire conversation only from the deleting user’s chat list; other participants still see the messages.

    That means Teams separates:

    • message deletion: limited to the sender, or certain owners based on policy
    • chat removal from view: available through deleting the whole chat from the user’s list

    For personal Teams, the same pattern appears:

    • A deleted chat is removed only from the deleting user’s view.
    • The other person or participants keep the chat and its history.
    • Individual message deletion is limited to messages the sender sent, and those messages are removed from everyone’s view.

    A related reason is compliance and retention. Teams messages can also be affected by retention policies, and message visibility in the app is tied to how the service handles deletion and compliance copies. Microsoft documentation states that when a retention policy triggers deletion, the message can disappear from the app for everyone in the conversation, while compliance copies can still remain searchable through eDiscovery until permanent deletion.

    So the current product model is not “hide another person’s message only for one viewer.” It is built around:

    • sender-controlled deletion of sent messages
    • policy/owner-controlled deletion in some business scenarios
    • user-level deletion of an entire chat from personal view
    • organization retention/compliance controls
    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

    Was this answer helpful?

  2. Aetherin 3,930 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-11-12T16:51:59.14+00:00

    Hi @DAVID SOPER,

    I understand that being able to hide an individual message from your own view is a basic and useful option in many messaging applications. Unfortunately, Microsoft Teams currently allows users to delete their own sent messages, but it does not provide an option to hide or delete a message sent by someone else only from their personal view.

    Please understand that this is a user-to-user support forum. Community members, including myself, are not part of the Microsoft Teams product team and do not have the ability to change the product.

    As feature requests posted here may not reach the team responsible for product development, the best way to make your suggestion visible is to submit it through the official Microsoft Teams Feedback Portal, where other users can also vote for it.

    User's image

    After posting your suggestion, you are welcome to share the link in the comments. I will be glad to vote for it and help give the request more visibility.

    Thank you for your understanding and for taking the time to share your feedback. I sincerely hope that Microsoft Teams will continue to evolve and introduce more features in the future to better meet the diverse needs and expectations of its users!

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.