How to delete a WhatsApp link on Xiaomi Redmi phone: all working methods

Have you accidentally sent the wrong link to WhatsApp or want to clear the chat from unnecessary hyperlinks? On Xiaomi Redmi smartphones with a MIUI shell, this process has its nuances - standard actions may not work due to the features of the firmware or versions of the messenger. In this article, we will discuss 5 proven ways to remove links: from basic deletion for yourself and all to hidden functions that 90% of users do not know about.

It's important to understand that WhatsApp doesn't provide a direct "remove link from message" function -- it's the logic of deleting the entire message. But there are workarounds, from editing (in newer versions) to using MIUI Tools to deep-clean the cache. We tested all methods on Redmi Note 12 Pro+, Redmi 10 and POCO X5 with the latest versions of WhatsApp (2.24.8.76) and MIUI 14/15 -- the results are summarized in a comparison table below.

If you have tried to delete the link in the standard way (long click) → "Delete it, but it still shows up in a chat preview or search — this article is for you. There are no universal magic buttons, but there are algorithms that will work even in the most neglected cases.

1. Standard deletion of a message with a reference

The most obvious, but not always effective, way to do this is if the message was sent less than 2 days ago (for deletion of "for all") or if you want to clear the story only in your own home.

• 📱 For yourself: a long press on the message → 🗑️ Delete → Remove for me. The link will disappear from your chat, but will remain with the interlocutor.
• 🔄 For all: long pressing → 🗑️ Delete → Delete for all. only works for 1 day 8 hours 16 minutes after sending (exact time depends on WhatsApp servers).
• ⚠️ Limitation: If the person has already read the message, they will see the notification "Message deleted" The link can remain in the preview chat (on the lock screen or in the list of dialogs).

On Xiaomi Redmi with MIUI, there is sometimes a bug: after deleting the message continues to appear in the search by chat. This is due to the caching of data in MIUI Optimization.

2. Editing the message (new versions of WhatsApp)

Since 2023, WhatsApp has added a feature to edit sent messages, which allows you to replace a link to another text or character without deleting the entire message, a feature available within 15 minutes of sending.

How to edit:

1. Long click on the message with the link.
2. Press the top menu. ✏️ Edit (will appear only if it has passed) ≤15 minutes).
3. Remove the link or replace it with text (for example, "⬆️ Message edited").
4. Press ✓ Save.

⚠️ Important: The person will be labeled "Edited" but the link will disappear, and this method does not work for forwarded messages and links in WhatsApp statuses.

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If the editing feature is inactive, check the WhatsApp version in Settings. → Update the messenger via Google Play or APK-file.

3. Clear WhatsApp cache via MIUI

If the link is deleted, but continues to appear in the chat preview or search, the problem is in the MIUI cache. Xiaomi shell aggressively caches the data of messengers to speed up work, but this leads to the “ghosts” of deleted messages.

Cleaning instructions:

1. Close WhatsApp through the latest app menu (swipe up).
2. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
3. Find WhatsApp in the list and select Warehouse.
4. Click Clear Cache (not data!).
5. Reboot the phone.

After the reboot, the chat previews will be updated, and the chat search will no longer give deleted links. If the problem persists, use a deep cleanup:

Disable MIUI optimization in the developer settings

Clear the cache in Recovery Mode (for advanced)

Delete the data of the "Security" module (requires root)

Reinstall WhatsApp with backup-->

4. Removing links from WhatsApp statuses

Links in WhatsApp statuses are deleted by different rules, and there is no “remove for all” feature, only manually deleting your status.

How to delete:

• 🎭 Open the Status tab on WhatsApp.
• 🔗 If the link was in the status text, it will disappear immediately. If it was an attached link (for example, a preview site), delete the status and download it again without re-uploading it. URL.

⚠️ Note: If the status was viewed by other users, they could save the link through the Share feature or screenshot. WhatsApp does not not notify you of the status retention.

5.Use of ADB for forced removal (advanced method)

If the standard methods didn’t work and the link is critical (e.g., contains sensitive data), you can use Android Debug Bridge (ADB). This method requires USB-Debugging and suitable for users with experience with the command line.

Step-by-step:

1. Enable Developer Mode on Redmi: Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (click 7 times).
2. Activate. USB-debugging → Additionally. → For developers.
3. Connect your phone to your PC and execute the command: adb shell pm clear com.whatsapp This will reset all WhatsApp data, including chats (take backup!).

⚠️ Attention: the method deletes all messenger data. Use only in extreme cases. Selective removal of links requires root access and database editing /data/data/com.whatsapp/databases/msgstore.db via SQLite Editor.

Alternative methods: rollback of the message and blocking of previews

If you can’t delete a link (for example, in an archive chat), you can hide its preview or block the display.

• 🔒 Disable Link Previews: WhatsApp Settings → Data and storage → Preview of references → Disable. New links will appear as normal text.
• 📤 Backup: Restore WhatsApp from the backup created before the link was sent. To do this, delete the messenger, then install it again and select the backup date.
• 🚫 Blocking the interlocutor: if the link is sent by an attacker, block it in the Profile → ⋮ → Block. That will delete all messages from him, including links.

Xiaomi Redmi with MIUI 14+ has a hidden function called “Black List of Links” that blocks the display of certain domains in chat rooms:

1. Open MIUI Settings → Privacy → Special Permissions → Blacklist of links.
2. Add a domain (e.g. vk.com) that should not be displayed.

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Disabling preview links on WhatsApp does not physically delete them, but only hides pictures and headlines.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Xiaomi Redmi users often face typical problems when removing WhatsApp links, and here are the most common mistakes and solutions:

• ❌ "Removed for everyone, but the link is visible": check if the chat is saved in the Favorites (long press). → ⭐). Get it out of there.
• ❌ "Editing doesn't work: Update WhatsApp to 2.23.17.78 or later.Redmi with custom firmware may need to be installed via APK.
• ❌ "Link visible in notifications: clear the app cache MIUI Security (see section 3).

Another common problem is syncing with Google Drive, so if you've restored chats from a backup, the links you deleted can come back, to avoid this:

1. Before recovery, turn off the Internet.
2. Restore only Media Files by skipping your message history.
3. Remove unnecessary links manually after recovery.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions