In Claude, hover a conversation in the sidebar, open the three dot menu, and choose Delete to remove it. To clear everything, open Settings, then Privacy, and use Delete All Conversations. Deleted chats disappear immediately and are removed from Anthropic's backend systems within 30 days.
Short answer
In Claude, hover a conversation in the sidebar, open the three dot menu, and choose Delete to remove it. To clear everything, open Settings, then Privacy, and use Delete All Conversations. Deleted chats disappear immediately and are removed from Anthropic's backend systems within 30 days.
Step by step
Export first: Settings, Privacy, Export Data. Anthropic emails a JSON archive of every conversation. This is the only way to keep a copy, and deletion cannot be undone.
Delete a single conversation: Hover the conversation in the left sidebar, click the three dot menu, choose Delete, and confirm. It vanishes from the list right away.
Delete everything: Settings, Privacy, Delete All Conversations. This clears the entire history at once and cannot be reversed.
Check projects separately: Conversations inside Projects are listed under that project. Clearing your main history does not always clear project threads, so review each project.
Deleting is not the same as never having existed
Once you delete, the conversation leaves your interface immediately, but Anthropic's stated process removes it from backend systems within 30 days. Conversations previously flagged by trust and safety can be retained longer, up to two years.
That is normal for hosted services. What matters practically is that you cannot get the content back.
Do the export first, always
The order that saves people grief is: export, verify the archive opens, then delete.
Claude's export arrives as JSON by email. Opening it in a text editor is technically possible and practically miserable, since it is one long structured blob with role markers and message arrays rather than a readable transcript.
Drop that archive into the ChatExports converter and it rebuilds each thread into Word, PDF, Markdown, CSV, or plain text, with the conversation structure and timestamps preserved. Everything runs inside your browser tab, so the archive is never uploaded.
A sane cleanup routine
Export monthly, or before any big cleanup.
Convert the archive into documents and store them wherever your real work lives.
Delete threads containing anything sensitive.
Keep the working threads you actively reference.
That gives you a clean account and a complete archive at the same time, which is the combination most people want and rarely get.
Frequently asked questions
Can I recover a deleted Claude conversation?
No. There is no trash or restore option. Export before deleting.
Does deleting conversations delete my account?
No. Your account, settings, and billing remain. Account deletion is a separate action.
Does deletion remove data used for safety review?
Not necessarily. Conversations flagged by trust and safety can be retained up to two years.
How do I delete Project conversations?
Open the project and delete threads from within it. Clearing your main history does not reliably remove them.