You can delete Airbnb messages one at a time from your inbox or conversation thread
Airbnb lets you remove individual messages from your message history. The process differs slightly depending on whether you're using the website, the mobile app on iOS, or the mobile app on Android. In all cases, you're deleting the message from your own view — the other person still sees it on their end unless Airbnb's system removes it for a policy violation.
Deleted messages cannot be recovered. Once you remove a message, it's gone from your account permanently. If you need to keep a record of something important — like house rules, check-in instructions, or payment details — take a screenshot or write it down before you delete.
Key Takeaways
- You delete messages individually by opening the conversation and using the delete option next to each message.
- On the website, right-click or tap and hold on a message to see the delete button; on mobile apps, swipe left on iOS or press and hold on Android.
- Deleting a message removes it only from your inbox, not from the other person's conversation history.
- You cannot delete an entire conversation thread at once — you must remove messages one by one if you want them gone.
- Airbnb does not restore deleted messages, so make sure you have copied or saved anything you need before deleting.
How to delete a message on the Airbnb website
Open Airbnb.com and sign into your account. Click the Messages icon (the speech bubble) in the top navigation bar. Find the conversation containing the message you want to delete and click it to open the full thread.
Locate the message you want to remove. Hover your mouse over it — a three-dot menu icon will appear on the right side of the message. Click that menu and select Delete. The message will disappear from your view when ready.
If you're on a touchscreen device using the website, tap and hold on the message instead of hovering. The same three-dot menu will appear, and you can tap Delete to remove it.
How to delete a message on the Airbnb iOS app
Open the Airbnb app and tap Messages at the bottom of the screen. Select the conversation that contains the message you want to delete. Find the message in the thread.
Swipe left on the message with your finger. A red Delete button will appear on the right side. Tap it to remove the message. The message will vanish from your conversation when ready.
If the swipe doesn't work the first time, make sure you're swiping from right to left across the message itself, not across the entire conversation list. A slow, deliberate swipe works better than a quick flick.
How to delete a message on the Airbnb Android app
Open the Airbnb app and tap Messages at the bottom of the screen. Select the conversation containing the message you want to delete. Find the message in the thread.
Press and hold your finger on the message for one to two seconds. A menu will pop up with options including Delete. Tap Delete to remove the message from your inbox.
If nothing happens when you press and hold, try a longer press — some Android devices require you to hold for a full two seconds before the menu appears.
What happens when you delete a message
When you delete a message, it disappears from your message history and your inbox. You will no longer see it when you open that conversation. However, the other person in the conversation still sees the message on their end — deletion only affects your own account.
Airbnb does not send a notification to the other person telling them you deleted a message. They won't know unless they were looking at the conversation at the exact moment you deleted it and notice it's gone.
If you delete a message by mistake, there is no undo button and Airbnb does not restore deleted messages. You cannot recover it yourself. If the message was important, you would need to ask the other person to resend the information or take a screenshot if they still have it.
When you might want to delete messages
You might delete messages to clean up your inbox after a stay is complete, to remove sensitive information like phone numbers or payment details you no longer need to reference, or to reduce clutter if you have many old conversations. Some hosts and guests delete messages after disputes are resolved to avoid re-reading difficult exchanges.
Keep in mind that Airbnb's support team can still see deleted messages if they need to review your account history during a dispute or investigation. Deleting a message does not erase it from Airbnb's servers — it only removes it from your personal view.
If you want to delete an entire conversation
Airbnb does not have a built-in feature to delete an entire conversation at once. If you want to remove all messages from a conversation, you must delete them individually using the steps above. This can be time-consuming if the conversation has many messages.
As an alternative, you can archive a conversation instead of deleting it. Archived conversations move out of your main inbox and into a separate section, which keeps your inbox cleaner without permanently removing the messages. Check your Airbnb settings to see if an archive option is available in your version of the app.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the other person see that I deleted a message?
No. The other person does not receive a notification that you deleted a message, and they cannot see that you deleted it unless they were actively viewing the conversation when you deleted it. The message straightforward disappears from your inbox, not from theirs.
Can Airbnb recover a message I deleted by mistake?
Airbnb does not restore deleted messages through the app or website. Once you delete a message, it is gone from your account. If you need the information, ask the other person to resend it or check if you took a screenshot before deleting.
Does deleting a message delete the entire conversation?
No. Deleting a single message only removes that one message from the thread. The conversation and all other messages in it remain in your inbox. You would need to delete each message individually if you want to remove them all.
What if I delete a message that contains important booking details?
If you delete a message with check-in instructions, house rules, or other important information, you can ask the host or guest to resend it. You can also contact Airbnb support if you need help recovering booking details — they may be able to provide the information even if the message is deleted from your inbox.
Is there a way to delete messages automatically after a certain time?
Airbnb does not have an automatic message deletion feature. Messages stay in your inbox until you manually delete them. You can periodically go through old conversations and delete messages you no longer need, but there is no setting to make this happen automatically.