How to clear the Zoom chat history?

Here’s question we just got from a reader:

My colleagues and i share a dedicated Windows 10 personal computer to access Zoom meetings and group chats. I am somewhat concerned that my chat history won’t be kept private, even though each of us use a different Zoom account and make sure to logout before others login. Is there anything i can do get rid of my conversation history and files if needed?

Thanks for the question, see our answer below. Hopefully it helps, if not, kindly post a comment.

Delete Zoom Chat History

To remove the chat history in Zoom, proceed as following:

  • Open the Zoom Desktop Client or mobile App.
  • From the upper menu, hit Chats.
  • Locate the relevant contact or Group channel for which you would be interested to clear the conversation thread.
  • Hover the small row at the right hand side of the contact or channel.
  • Now select Clear Chat History.
  • Zoom will pop up the following message to alert you that all messages, images, screenshots and files associated with the chat will be wiped our completely and can’t be reinstated if needed.
  • Hit the Clear Chat button if absolutely sure. That’s it.
  • Your contact person or group members won’t be notified that you have decided to remove the conversation history from Zoom.

Delete specific chat messages in Zoom

Let’s assume that you sent a Chat message to a contact or group by mistake (either in a Zoom meeting or in an asynchronous chat). If the recipient/s saw the message, there won’t be a way to recall it. That said, if you are fast enough you can remove the message and prevent it from being seen by other/s.

To recall a Zoom message, proceed as following:

  • If you aren’t already there, open our Zoom client and go to the Chat tab.
  • Hover on your chat message.
  • Hit the ellipsis (…) button.
  • Select the Delete option.

Removing Chat Files from your Computer

There might be that all you are looking for is to simply delete one or more files sent or received as part of a message in Zoom (and keep the conversation itself). If so, here we go:

  1. Assuming you are using Windows, open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Users\<your_user_name>\AppData\Roaming\Zoom\data directory. Make sure to replace <your_user_name> with your user Windows account (the one you use to login).
  2. Search for the relevant file using the Windows Search Box.
  3. Once you locate the file, go ahead and delete it (Right click Delete and then remove our from the Recycle Bin or Shift+Delete, to wipe out a file permanently).

Getting rid of Teams Chats

Couple readers asked whether it is possible to completely remove the chat history in Microsoft Teams. Here’s a detailed blog post about hiding the Microsoft Teams chat history.