What happens if you delete a WhatsApp chat for someone else - briefly?
When you delete a WhatsApp chat on your own device, it only removes the messages and media from your phone; the conversation remains intact on the other person's device. This action does not affect the chat history for the other participant in any way.
What happens if you delete a WhatsApp chat for someone else - in detail?
Deleting a WhatsApp chat on your device does not affect the conversation on another user's device. When you delete a chat, it removes the messages and media from your local storage but leaves them intact on the recipient's device. This action is essentially a way to free up space on your own phone without disrupting the communication for others involved in the conversation.
The deletion process works as follows: upon choosing to delete a chat, WhatsApp will clear all associated data from your device. However, the original messages and attachments remain stored on WhatsApp's servers, ensuring that other participants can still access them. The chat history is not altered on their devices; they will continue to see the conversation as it was before you deleted it.
It’s important to note that while deleting a chat does not remove the messages from WhatsApp's servers or other users' devices, it does delete your local copy of the chat. This means you will no longer have access to the conversation on your device unless you choose to restore it from a backup, which is a separate process.
In summary, deleting a WhatsApp chat only affects your personal device and has no bearing on the messages or media available to other participants in the conversation.