WhatsApp ‘Delete for everyone’ feature does not remove files from your iPhone

The client used for the iOS messenger deletes media files from the conversation, but they are not deleted from the recipient’s phone.

Information security expert Shitesh Sachan discovered that WhatsApp keeps files deleted by the sender stored on the recipient’s iPhone. This means that whenever you click on ‘Delete for everyone’ on a file that you have sent, it is still stored on the devices of the recipients with iPhones. However, the app informs you about the successful deletion of the sent file. Sachan revealed this problem to The Hacker News.

On iOS, all WhatsApp files are automatically saved to the user’s Camera Roll. The app works in a similar way on Android phones, with all messenger files saved to Android Media Gallery. However, in case of deletion, WhatsApp protects the gallery on Android phones, which is not the case for iPhones, where the files remain saved on the device. 

For identifying a similar problem in Telegram messenger, information security expert Dhiraj Mishra received a $2500 reward. However, Shitesh Sachan shouldn’t expect any compensation for his discovery. WhatsApp developers believe that file caching on the recipient’s side is not within their area of responsibility: they can guarantee file deletion only within the conversation itself.