How to Use Redact to Delete Discord Messages as a Server Admin

How to Use Redact to Delete Discord Messages as a Server Admin

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22 min read

Categories: Business, Cybersecurity, Data, Data Privacy, Digital Footprint, Discord, Encryption, Privacy Guides, Redact Features, Social Media

If you’re a Discord server moderator and need to delete content from users across your server, Redact’s Moderator Mode gives you the tools to do it — fast, safely, and completely.

Whether you’re retroactively applying new moderation rules or cleaning up offensive, off-topic, or outdated content, this guide will show you exactly how to use Moderator Mode in Redact.

Discord also collects a lot of your data, so if you are concerned about privacy, you should use Redact!

Please note – mass deleting messages as a Discord mod requires a Redact Premium subscriptionYou can try Redact for free on Twitter/X, Reddit and Facebook!

What is Moderator Mode in Redact?

Moderator Mode allows server admins and moderators to delete messages from other users in the groups or servers they manage. It gives you the same deletion power Redact provides to individual users — including filters like keyword targeting, date range selection, and multi-message batch deletion.

This is ideal for:

  • Enforcing new moderation policies retroactively
  • Cleaning up spam, NSFW content, or rule-breaking messages
  • Maintaining a professional or welcoming server environment

How to Use Moderator Mode in Redact

1. Download Redact.dev

Visit Redact.dev and download the app for your computer. Redact offers a free download, and you can test it out on 30 days of Discord and Facebook content, along with Reddit bulk edits and Twitter deletion.

Go to redact.dev and click Download located in the top right corner
2. Connect Your Account

Log in to Redact and select Discord as your target platform in Redact

Log in to Redact and select Discord as your target platform in Redact
3. Select Mod Servers

Once you connect your account, click the option “MOD SERVERS”. This will allow you to select to delete messages in servers that you moderate.

Select what server you want to delete from
4. Choose Your Deletion Filters

Apply specific filters to target the messages you want to remove:

By Date Range: Remove messages posted before or after a certain date.

Remove messages posted before or after a certain date

Messages From Specific users: Mass delete messages from specific users based on their user ID in a Discord server you moderate. You’ll need the user IDs which you can access by following the steps here.

Messages or Forum Topics: As a Discord Server Moderator, you can bulk delete messages or Forum Topics in your server.

Keywords and User Mentions: With Redact.dev, you can bulk delete messages containing specific keywords using the Text Search filter.

You can also use User IDs to bulk delete messages that mention specific users.

Bulk Delete Specific Content Types: You can select any combination of message types based on the type of content they contain. For example, you can delete all Images and Videos from your Discord Server, or all messages containing Links.

Preserve messages and mass delete the rest: If you’re looking to purge all Discord messages from your server, except for pinned messages – just tick the relevant override box. You can also add User IDs to preserve any messages sent by specific users – for example, yourself as the moderator, or Discord bots you’re using.

5. Preview and Confirm

Before deleting, we recommend you use Redact.dev’s Preview Mode to review which messages will be removed. You can also use select and delete mode – which takes a bit longer, but lets you review, select and bulk delete your messages in batches.

preview mode in redact

You can also Select and Delete to manually audit your Discord server’s messages and mark batches for deletion. Or, you can enforce your server policies automatically by setting up a Schedule deletion.

6. Start Deleting

You’re ready to go! Just click “Start Deleting” and let Redact.dev take care of the rest. Keep the app open until the process is complete.

Bulk Delete Discord Messages as a Server Admin FAQ

You need roles with Manage Messages in the target channels. For server wide work, Manage Server and role hierarchy that outranks the affected roles are helpful. Audit Log access is useful for reviews.
With the right permissions, you can delete any message in channels you moderate. Direct messages are private and follow different rules. Always follow your community policy and local law.
Deleting a message removes that message and Discord hosted attachments tied to it. External links and copies outside Discord can remain. Some system notices and join events are not user deletable.
Open Redact and choose Discord, then select Servers and Channels. Pick targets, set filters, run a Preview, and execute Deletion or schedule recurring runs. Redact spaces requests to respect limits.
Filter by channels, categories, date ranges, keywords, mentions, attachments, links, and reactions. Use Only my messages or exclude staff channels to avoid removing protected content.
Yes. Target by user, by role scope through channels, or by keywords that match incidents. Start with Preview, then approve a Select and Delete batch for accuracy.
Permissions can differ by channel type. Threads inherit from parents but can have locks. Forum posts and comments are separate items. Check each area in Preview before running bulk actions.
Audit Log shows who performed actions, where, and when. Exact message bodies are not preserved there. Keep internal incident notes if you need context after removal.
No. Redact runs on your device and uses the minimum access needed to execute your actions. You can disconnect Discord from Redact at any time in Settings.
Use batches by date or channel, schedule multiple passes, and avoid peak activity hours. Test a small sample first to confirm speed and stability before scaling up.
Yes. Save your filters and enable daily, weekly, or monthly runs. Disappearing Mode can enforce retention rules by age or by keywords you define.
Admins can remove webhook and bot posts in channels they manage. Some bot logs may exist outside Discord. Update bots to stop reposting removed content.
Capture evidence, note message links, export minimal logs, restrict posting, run a targeted removal, then reopen channels. Review roles and post rate limits afterward.
You can start for free with recent history. Premium unlocks all time cleanups, advanced filters, larger batches, and multi server schedules.
Download Redact, connect Discord, and begin with a Preview in a low risk channel. Redact uses passwordless sign in with secure email codes. You can disconnect any time.