The saying goes, “Nothing lasts forever,” and the same sits true for a Slack channel. No matter how old a channel is or how important it used to be, you would want to remove it for good once it’s inactive. Alternatively, you might want to disable it but retain its data by archiving the channel. In this article, we show you how to delete or archive a Slack channel.
Deleting an old Slack channel not just helps you prevent cluttering but also saves some precious storage space, which could be particularly vital if you are on a free plan. Once you delete a channel, all its messages and media files will be removed irretrievably.
On the other hand, archiving the channel locks it out for use by anyone. But, with this feature, the channel’s existing messages and other data would remain there and could be looked up using the search bar.
Can anyone delete or archive a Slack channel?
All users can create a new channel in their workspace, but they don’t have the required permissions to delete an existing channel. This ability rests with the workspace owners and the admin exclusively.
Contrarily, the ability to archive a Slack channel is available to almost everyone in the workspace. The only users who aren’t allowed to archive a channel are guests. However, admins and workspace owners can block others from using this ability.
Although you can archive a channel on desktop or mobile, you can delete a channel only using a PC or Mac. Here are the steps for both processes.
Steps for deleting a Slack channel
- In the Slack desktop app, select the desired channel from the left column.
2. Click on the channel name close to the top of the screen.
3. Now, select the Settings tab.
4. Click on “Delete this channel” to get rid of that channel permanently.
5. When prompted, select the “Yes, permanently delete the channel” checkbox and click on “Delete channel” to confirm your decision.
Steps for archiving a Slack channel
Archive a channel on desktop
- Follow Steps 1-3 from the previous section.
- Click on “Archive channel for everyone.”
3. Finally, click on “Archive channel” to confirm.
Archive a channel on mobile
- Open the Slack mobile app.
- Select the desired channel.
3. Tap on the channel name near the top.
4. Tap on “Archive” to proceed.
5. At last, hit “Archive” again to finish the process.
Later, if you want to undo this action, you can find the archived channel using the search bar. Then, you would have to open it, tap on the channel name button, and select “Unarchive this channel.”
So, that wraps up our guide on how to delete or archive a Slack channel. If you’d like to read similar Slack how-tos about how to delete your account, how to make a public channel private, and more, check out our dedicated guide.
