how to delete direct messages on discord

Deleting messages on any platform is sometimes necessary to free up space, reinvent yourself, or eliminate years of clutter. Discord is no different, and some users feel compelled to delete all of their messages at some point or other. Whilst useful, Discord isn't fond of its users deleting messages. If you break the rules, you might get in trouble with the platform's admins.

How to Delete All Messages in Discord

However, bots can help you delete messages in bulk if you're a server owner or Admin. Some can even clone a channel and remove all messages in the process. There are many options out there, but we'll cover the most popular and powerful ones here.

Deleting All Direct Messages Using Bots

If you were looking for a way to get rid of your direct messages via a bot swiftly, we have to disappoint you. Discord not only discourages such attempts, but it can also get you in trouble. In the worst-case scenario, you might face account termination.

Therefore, we wouldn't recommend doing such a thing. For the same reasons, we won't cover that in this tutorial. If you want to delete DMs that way, you'll have to do it at your own risk.

In the past, Discord only discouraged users from using self-bots to delete direct messages. But users did so en masse, so Discord proclaimed it a violation of terms. That said, many users have reported that Discord won't punish you if you use a self-bot for purposes that don't harm other users and aren't public.

Why Discord Prohibits Deleting Direct Messages Using Bots?

The answer to that is simple. A self-bot is nothing more than a user account that runs on an API token. Nowadays, Discord wants all bots tracked and tagged via the ubiquitous Developer Portal. A self-bot sidesteps these rules, allowing you and any other user to make API requests and automate many tasks.

The Silver Lining

With auto-bots out of the question, is there a way to delete direct messages in bulk? In short, yes. Discord's API allows you to make POST requests. These requests trigger an event called Message Delete Bulk. That way, you can delete direct messages en masse, but there's a two-week limit. This POST request can't target messages that are older than 14 days.

However, you can queue up and delete older messages by hand. It's important to note that Discord doesn't allow for unlimited DM removal. So, your best bet is to do it in small batches and with breaks in between sessions. Then you'll avoid any potential problems with Discord.

Be aware that if you have a chat history that spans several years and thousands of messages, it might take you some time to delete it entirely. In the FAQ section, we'll talk about some of the limitations of removing messages in Discord.

Deleting All Channel Messages Using Bots

If you need to delete all messages in a channel on your Discord server, you can use a bot. Discord has no problems when it comes to getting rid of messages on servers. If you own one, you can remove channel messages as required.

Your options are numerous here. However, be sure that the bot you select can do it. The most popular option at the moment is the powerful MEE6 bot, but CleanChat ranks high as well.

Note that bots with the power to delete server channel messages probably can't delete all of them in one go. If your server is new and has only a handful of messages, you might be able to get rid of them in one fell swoop. However, if you have a larger community, it might take time to clean it all up.

That's because bots have limitations when it comes to batch size. Some can delete a maximum of 100 messages in one go, while others can cover a whopping 1,000 messages with a single command. The CleanChat Bot belongs to the former group and the mighty MEE6 to the latter. Now, let's move on to the bots and see what they can do for you.

Requirements

It's essential to be logged into the right account (in case you have multiple accounts) for the following tutorials to work. Also, you should add bots via the browser, not the desktop or mobile app.

However, you can use the browser on both a mobile and desktop/laptop device. So, here we'll cover Windows, iOS, macOS, Linux, and Android devices.

MEE6 Bot

The MEE6 bot is one of the most powerful options at your disposal if you want to purge your server channels. As mentioned, it can do up to 1,000 messages per action, though you can specify any other number.

This bot allows you to delete indiscriminately or only messages from particular users. The choice is yours, and we'll outline both options.

To install the MEE6 bot, you need to follow these steps:

Step 1

Open the browser on the device of your choice and search for the official MEE6 bot's site. It should be among the top results. Click or tap on the official site.

When you access the Home page, this is how it should look:

That is the desktop version of the site.

Step 2

Next, you should click or tap on the blue "Add to Discord" button. Of course, you can take your time and explore what the bot has to offer. In fact, we recommend this if it's your first time installing a bot to your Discord server.

Step 3

The MEE6 site will open a tab in a new window. There, you'll get the summary of permission requests that the bot needs to work correctly. Check if you're logged in to the account you want to add the bot to and go over the permissions.

Now, click or tap on the Authorize button in the lower-right corner of the screen.

Step 4

In this step, select the server where you want the bot.

Click or tap on the Setup MEE6 button next to the desired server.

Step 5

That will open another window. Here, Discord will ask you if you want to connect the bot to that specific server.

If you're sure, click or tap on the Continue button. If not, choose another server from the dropdown list.

Step 6

Now, Discord will display the full list of permissions you're about to give the MEE6 bot. If you're unsure about some of them, you can uncheck them. However, you should leave the Administrator box ticked.

When you're satisfied with the list, click or tap on the Authorize button.

Step 7

Discord will then ask you to confirm that you're not a robot.

Click or tap on the Captcha button.

Step 8

You'll get a message in the General channel of your server that "A wild MEE6" has appeared. You'll also see the bot on the list of online members on the right side of the Discord window.

Step 9

This step is optional. You can go to MEE6's official site to manage the bot's settings. It will open automatically in a new tab when you authorize the bot. It should look like this:

The page will display your Discord name in the upper-right corner and the name of your server to the left. Below them, you'll see all the settings you can tweak. Once you're satisfied, you can go back to your server and start deleting messages.

Step 10

You can use two commands to delete messages from the channel. The '!clear (number)' command will delete the designated number of most recent messages from a channel.

Press Enter or Send to execute the command. That will delete only the last message.

If you want to delete a particular user's messages, you should use the '!clear @username' command. That will wipe the user's 100 most recent messages.

Mee6 Not Working?

A lot of users have asked why Mee6 isn't following the '!clear' command. Fortunately, one of our servers recently had the same problem. No matter how many times we typed the command into the text box, nothing happened. The good news is, it's a really simple fix.

To fix Mee6, do this:

Head over to the Mee6 website and sign in just as we did above. Once you get to the Dashboard, scroll down until you see 'Moderator.' Click on the 'Moderator' tab, and click 'Enable.'

If it's successful, you'll see this:

Now, you can use the '!clear' command. If the messages were sent within the past two weeks, Mee6 will take care of them for you. If not, Mee6 will let you know it's experiencing limitations.

CleanChat Bot

The next bot on our list goes by the name of CleanChat. You can get it from its official website or a bot site, though we recommend the official route to be completely safe.

The CleanChat bot is a powerful tool dedicated to keeping your chat as clean as possible. Its main task is to silence other bots you might have on the server, if you can use it to delete messages, too.

With this bot, you can remove up to 100 messages in one go. You can also use the "purge" command to clone a channel. Here's the setup and how to use it. As with the MEE6 bot, this method works on both mobile and desktop browsers.