Auto-Delete Old Messages

Better Messages can automatically purge old messages and attachments to manage database size and comply with data-retention policies. Set a retention period in days. A daily WP-Cron job removes anything older. Attachments have their own retention setting (often shorter than text). Useful for sites with GDPR obligations, large message volumes, or simply a policy of "no message older than 90 days."

What it adds#

Auto-delete messages older than N days (configurable)
Separate, optional attachment retention — typically shorter than text retention
Cleanup of messages from deleted user accounts (no orphaned data)
Runs on the plugin's own WP-Cron job in the background, no manual triggers needed
Useful for database size management on busy sites
Useful for data-retention compliance (GDPR, sector-specific regulations)

How it works#

The plugin registers its own WP-Cron task, better_messages_cleaner_job, on a five-minute interval. On each run it queries the messages table for any message older than the configured threshold and deletes a batch of them, so a very large backlog is worked through over successive runs instead of timing out in one. The same job handles expired attachments, voice and video messages, and the per-room chat-room cleanup.

Action	Outcome
Cron fires	Up to 100 messages older than N days are deleted per run — filter `better_messages_delete_old_messages_batch_size` to change it
User account is deleted	All of that user's messages are removed (if Delete Messages on Account Deletion is on)
Attachment is older than its retention	The file is deleted and its markup is stripped from the message. If nothing else was in that message, the message row is deleted too — there is no "attachment removed" placeholder
Cron is disabled on the site	No auto-delete happens — wire up a real OS cron hitting `wp-cron.php`, or run `wp cron event run --all` from WP-CLI

Deleted messages are permanently removed — no soft-delete, no admin trash. Plan retention windows accordingly.

When to enable auto-delete#

Use case	Suggested setup
GDPR-strict community	90-day text retention, 30-day attachment retention
Large active community	6-12 month retention to keep DB size manageable
Customer support	1-2 year retention for compliance + audit
Casual social DMs	Disabled (users expect history to persist)
Health / regulated industry	Per-regulation retention (HIPAA, etc.) — usually 6-7 years

How to enable#

Navigate to WP Admin → Better Messages → Settings → Messaging.

Auto-Delete Old Messages → Auto-Delete After — permanently delete messages older than this many days. 0 keeps all messages.
Delete Messages on Account Deletion — wipe all of a user's messages when their WordPress account is removed

For attachments: WP Admin → Better Messages → Settings → Attachments.

Auto-Delete Attachments — delete attachments after this many days. 0 keeps them indefinitely.

info

Set retention windows thoughtfully — deletion is permanent. Communicate the retention policy to users so they don't expect indefinite history.

Frequently asked questions#

Can users export their messages before they're deleted?#

Not from the messenger itself. Since 2.15.32 an administrator can export a full transcript as plain text, a web page or a CSV spreadsheet from the conversations screen in the admin area. For anything scripted, the REST API returns thread history — POST /thread/{id} for a thread with its recent messages, and POST /thread/{id}/loadMore to page back through the rest.

Are pinned or favorited messages exempt from auto-delete?#

No — auto-delete is unconditional. A pinned message older than the retention window is deleted, and the pin is removed.

Does auto-delete trigger notifications to users?#

No — deletion is silent. Users don't get a notification that old messages have been purged. The thread just shows newer messages going forward.

What happens to a thread where all messages are deleted?#

The thread record itself is kept (so it can show up in the inbox empty, or be deleted manually).

Can different chat rooms have different retention?#

Age-based retention is site-wide, but chat rooms have their own per-room Automatic Message Cleanup — each room can be wiped on a daily or weekly schedule, or capped at the latest N messages, independently of the global setting. To raise or lower the per-run batch size, hook better_messages_delete_old_messages_batch_size (default 100, in inc/cleaner.php).