How to Delete All Your Slack Messages in Channels

How to Delete All Your Slack Messages in Channels

Redacto
20 min read

Categories: Business, Cybersecurity, Data, Data Privacy, Digital Footprint, Encryption, Government, LinkedIn, Privacy Guides, Redact Features

Why Use Redact.dev to Delete Slack Messages?

Slack is one of the most widely used platforms for workplace communication—but that doesn’t mean every message you’ve sent should stick around forever. Whether you’re looking to erase private messagess, remove old conversations from public channels, or delete sensitive files, Redact.dev gives you the control to wipe your Slack history on your terms.

There’s heaps of reasons to consider deleting your old chat messages in Slack – if you care about your privacy, and your right to express yourself freely without being surveyed, deleting your Slack messages regularly helps safeguard you against prying eyes.

Please note – mass deleting your Slack DMs requires a Redact Ultimate subscriptionYou can try Redact for free on Twitter/X, Discord, Reddit and Facebook!

If you want to learn more about the Redact.dev deletion tools, check out our Premium options here

With Redact.dev, you can:
  • Mass delete Slack messages across channels and DMs
  • Filter deletions by keyword, date, or message type
  • Clean up old conversations before quitting or switching jobs
  • Remove potentially risky content you forgot about

Best of all, Redact.dev is free to download, and gives you access to powerful deletion tools with just a few clicks.

Delete Messages Across Multiple Channels

Skip the manual message hunt. Select one or more Slack channels and wipe messages in bulk. Redact.dev does the heavy lifting for you – saving hours of scrolling and searching.

Bulk Delete Direct Messages

Had sensitive convos with coworkers? You can bulk-delete private Slack Messages using Redact.dev. Target everything from keyword-specific messages to entire conversation histories. You can even preview or selectively delete messages first.

Delete by Keyword or Date Range

Use Redact’s advanced filters to target messages that mention specific keywords (like “HR”, names, or anything NSFW), or narrow by date. Clean up just the last week, or go back to 2018.

Remove Files

Use the Message Type Filter to delete specific kinds of Slack content. That includes files!

How to Delete Slack Messages with Redact.dev

Download & Install Redact.dev

Visit redact.dev/download and install the desktop app (Windows or macOS).

Go to redact.dev and click Download located in the top right corner

Log In & Connect Your Slack

Select Slack from the services list and follow the prompts to securely connect your workspace.

Mass delete from Slack in Redact.dev

Set Filters or Choose Deletion Mode

  • Pick channels or DMs
  • Set date ranges
  • Enter keywords
  • Choose message types
  • Or skip filters to delete everything
Select which filter best suites you

Preview, Pick & Delete

  • Preview Mode: See what will be deleted first
  • Select & Delete: Pick specific messages to delete
  • Start Deleting: One click to wipe it all
preview mode in redact

Done!

Redact.dev will work through your Slack history and clean it up exactly the way you told it to. Just keep the app open until it finishes.

Delete All Your Slack Messages FAQ

Slack lets you delete individual messages you sent. There is no single remove all switch for every channel and DM at once. Admins can set retention and run exports depending on plan and policy.
In channels and group DMs you can remove only messages you sent unless you have moderator permissions. In one to one DMs you can delete your own messages. Workspace settings can restrict who can delete.
Deleting a message removes that message and its preview. Files you uploaded can persist as separate items if not deleted. Thread replies must be removed individually or via rules where available.
Open Redact and choose Slack. Pick targets like channels, DMs, or threads. Set filters for dates, keywords, users, files, or links. Run a Preview, then enable Deletion or schedule recurring runs.
Filter by date ranges, channels, participants, keywords, attachments, links, reactions, and threads. Add whitelists for channels or keywords to preserve. Combine Before, After, Between, or All Time rules.
Yes. Use Only my messages to scope actions to your account. Admin or owner privileges are needed to remove messages from other users where policy permits.
Retention can auto remove older content or preserve it for compliance. Admins can override channel level settings. Export and legal holds may retain data outside normal views.
No. Deletion affects Slack storage and views. External archives, exports, bot logs, or forwarded emails can remain. Coordinate with admins to address those systems.
No. Redact runs on your device and uses the minimum access required to execute your actions. You can disconnect Slack from Redact at any time.
Redact batches actions and spaces requests to respect platform limits. For years of activity, run smaller date slices or schedule several passes for stability and full coverage.
Yes. You can delete files you own. Messages that referenced those files may still exist with broken previews. Consider removing both where appropriate.
Yes. Save your filters and enable daily, weekly, or monthly runs with Disappearing Mode. Redact repeats your rules and cleans matching items automatically.
Export important data if allowed, start with a small Preview, approve a short Select and Delete batch, keep whitelists for channels and keywords, then expand your date ranges.
No. Removing messages does not change channels, membership, roles, or workspace settings. Those are managed by admins and owners.
You can download Redact for free and start with recent history. Redact uses passwordless sign in with secure email codes. You can disconnect at any time and upgrade later for all time cleanups and schedules.