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Dear Law StackExchange community,

I'm attempting to get chat history removed with another party dating back a long time ago. I don't want the chats to remain existent on any device whatsoever, so I would like to have them removed based on the GDPR.

Is Facebook/WhatsApp legally obligated to remove the chat history on every client (device)? It's a 1 on 1 chat so not a group chat.

And yeah, I live in the EU.

Edit: I know backups or any sort of restoration can't be removed, but I am talking cloud synced data, viewing chat on the app, etc.

Thanks in advance.

attorneynoofie
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    The right to erasure only applies under rather limited circumstances, and none would seem to apply here. The exercise of this right must also be balanced with the rights of other data subjects, such as the person you chatted with. Why would your erasure request be more important than their interest in maintaining an unmanipulated chatlog? Finally, guaranteed erasure is technically impossible, and the person in question could have already made backups. – amon Dec 23 '19 at 22:27
  • @amon Basically, the personal data is no longer necessary for the purpose which you originally collected or processed it for; could apply based on the fact that the receiver already took notice of the mesages. – attorneynoofie Dec 23 '19 at 22:33
  • @Moo not really, it's about whether the messages are accessible from another party's phone through the app. – attorneynoofie Dec 24 '19 at 15:31
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    @attorneynoofie it covers this situation - basically, no, companies are not required to remove copies from other people’s accounts, just your own account. That includes copies on other devices. –  Dec 24 '19 at 20:26

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