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How do I delete an SMS message in a conversation?

Remove a text from Opus1.io when a family sends a credit card number, a photo, or anything else that shouldn't stay on record. Owners and managers point at the message, select the trash icon beside the time, then Delete message. The text and its photos are erased from Opus1.io and replaced by a Message deleted on note. Deleting doesn't unsend anything: the message stays on the contact's phone.

Applies to: Owner, Manager (Staff for scheduled texts only)
PLUS Feature: No
Plan: All plans with SMS enabled
Last updated: October 28, 2026

Table of Contents

  1. Overview
  2. Who can delete a message
  3. How to delete a message
  4. What your team sees afterward
  5. When a family texts card details
  6. Which fix to use
  7. FAQ
  8. Related Articles

Overview

Every text your school sends or receives is visible to anyone on your team who can open SMS conversations in Opus1.io. That's what makes a shared inbox useful, and it's also why a message containing a card number, a medical detail, or a photo sent to the wrong number shouldn't sit there indefinitely.

Owners and managers can delete a single message from a conversation. Opus1.io erases the message text and any photos attached to it, and leaves a dated note in the thread so your team can see that something was removed and when.

Why: Fewer people can see sensitive information, and you keep a record that a removal happened without keeping the content itself.

⚠️ Warning: Deleting removes the message from Opus1.io only. A text can't be pulled back from a phone. If you sent it, the contact may already have read it. If the contact sent it, it's still in their messaging app.

Who can delete a message

Role Open and send in conversations Delete a message Cancel a scheduled text
Owner Yes Yes Yes
Manager Yes Yes Yes
Staff Yes No Yes
Limited Staff No No No

Teachers and front-desk staff with the Staff role can read and reply in every conversation, but Opus1.io hides the delete control from them. If a staff member spots a message that needs removing, they should ask an owner or manager to delete it.

How to delete a message

  1. Open SMS conversations in Opus1.io.
    • On a computer, select the SMS icon in the top bar to open the Messages panel. To work on the full page, go to Clients > Instant Messaging, or select the expand icon in the panel header.
    • On a phone or narrow screen, the same icon opens the full messaging page.
  2. Select the conversation.
  3. Find the message. The trash icon sits next to the time on each message.
    • On a computer, move the pointer over the message to show the trash icon.
    • On a touch screen, the trash icon is always visible.
  4. Select the trash icon. Opus1.io asks Delete this message? and shows this notice: "This message will be deleted from Opus1, but it may still be available on the contact's phone depending on their operating system."
  5. Select Delete message, or select Cancel to keep it.

Opus1.io confirms with Message deleted. The same steps work for messages you sent, messages you received, and messages that failed to send.

⚠️ Warning: Deleting can't be undone. Opus1.io doesn't keep a copy of the text or photos once you confirm.

What your team sees afterward

The message text and any photos on it are gone. In their place, the thread shows Message deleted on followed by the date and time of the deletion.

That time uses the time zone of the location your SMS number belongs to. If the number isn't tied to a location, Opus1.io uses your business time zone.

The placeholder stays in the thread for everyone on your team who opens the conversation, so nobody wonders whether a message is missing. The rest of the conversation, including earlier and later messages, is unchanged.

If the deleted message was the most recent one, the conversation list stops showing its text as a preview. The preview reads send a message until a newer message arrives or goes out.

When a family texts card details

This is the situation the feature was built for. When a family texts a full card number, the three or four digit code on the back of the card, or bank details, delete the message as soon as you see it so it isn't visible to everyone with inbox access.

Then reply to let the family know you've removed it from Opus1.io, ask them to delete it from their own phone as well, and point them to the way your school normally takes payment instead. Texting card details isn't a safe way to pay, for them or for your school.

Which fix to use

Opus1.io has several actions that change what you see in a conversation. Only one of them removes a message.

Situation What to do in Opus1.io
A message contains a card number, private detail, or wrong photo Delete the message
A text is still waiting to go out at a scheduled time Cancel it with the trash icon on the scheduled text above the reply box
You sent the wrong text and it has already gone Delete it if you need it off the record, then send a correction, because the contact still has the original
The conversation is finished Close the conversation, which doesn't delete anything
A number keeps texting you unwanted messages Block the number, which doesn't delete earlier messages

A scheduled text shows above the reply box with Scheduled for and the date and time it will send. It doesn't use the Delete message dialog. Staff can cancel scheduled texts as well as owners and managers. How do I schedule a one-time text to send later? covers this in full.

FAQ

Is the family notified when I delete a message? No. Deleting a message only changes what your team sees in Opus1.io, and nothing is sent to the contact. If they need to know, send them a short text yourself.

Can Opus1.io support recover a message I deleted by mistake? No. Opus1.io doesn't keep the text or photos after you confirm the deletion, so there is nothing to restore. Take a moment to check you've picked the right message before selecting Delete message.

Can I delete a batch text I sent to a whole group class? Batch texts don't appear in SMS conversations in Opus1.io unless one fails to send. If a failed batch text shows up in a conversation, you can delete it there the same way as any other message.

Does deleting a message remove the whole conversation? No. Opus1.io removes only the one message you chose and leaves the rest of the conversation, its link to the client, and its place in your inbox as they were.

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