Imagine this: You send a risky message on WhatsApp. You instantly regret it. You go to delete it, but you realize… they just blocked you.
Now you are in a panic. Can you still use “Delete for Everyone” to remove that message from their phone, or is it stuck there forever?
I tested this scenario across Android and iPhone to give you the definitive technical answer. The short answer is No, but you need to understand why so you don’t get a false sense of security.
The Short Answer: The “Silent Failure”
If a contact has blocked you, you cannot delete a message from their phone, even if the “Delete for Everyone” button is still visible to you.
You might tap “Delete for Everyone,” and the message will disappear from your chat. However, it will stay on the recipient’s phone. WhatsApp will not tell you that it failed. It just fails silently.
Why It Doesn’t Work (The Technical Reason)
To understand why, you have to understand how WhatsApp works under the hood.
When you tap “Delete for Everyone,” your WhatsApp app sends a new, invisible command to the recipient’s phone. This command basically says: “Hey, please hide message ID #123.”
Here is the problem: Blocking acts like a firewall.
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If you are blocked, no data from you can reach them.
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This includes text messages, photos, and delete commands.
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Your “Delete” request hits the block wall and bounces off. It never reaches their phone to execute the deletion.
Scenario 1: You sent the message, but it has only ONE Tick
(This means they blocked you BEFORE you sent it, or their internet is off).
If you see a Single Grey Tick, the message never left the server to reach them.
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Can you delete it? Yes, technically.
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Does it matter? No. If they are blocking you, that message will never be delivered anyway. Even if they unblock you later, messages sent while blocked are permanently dropped by WhatsApp. They will never arrive.
[Insert Screenshot here: A message with a Single Grey Tick next to the “Delete for Everyone” menu]
Scenario 2: You sent the message, it has TWO Ticks, then they Blocked you
(This is the nightmare scenario).
They received the message (Two Grey Ticks). They got angry. They blocked you. Now you try to delete it.
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Will it work? No.
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Even though the message is already on their phone, your request to delete it is a new action. Because you are now blocked, that new action cannot pass through.
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The Result: The message is deleted from your phone, but it remains permanently on their phone history.
“What if they unblock me later?”
Many users ask: “If I hit delete now, will it vanish when they unblock me next week?”
No. WhatsApp does not “queue” actions while you are blocked. If you send a message (or a delete command) while blocked, it is discarded immediately. It does not wait for them to unblock you. That ship has sailed.
Summary Checklist
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If you see One Tick: You are safe (they will likely never get it).
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If you see Two Ticks + Blocked: You are out of luck. The message is there to stay.
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If you see Blue Ticks: It’s too late; they already read it.
The Lesson: The “Delete for Everyone” feature depends on an active, unblocked connection between both phones. If that bridge is burned, the deletion truck can’t cross it.
