How do you delete a discussion post on Canvas?
Use the Options menu on the reply itself. Instructure’s student guide gives these steps for Canvas in a web browser:
- In Course Navigation, click Discussions.
- Click the discussion title.
- Find your reply and click its Options icon.
- Select Delete.
- Click OK to confirm.
If classmates had already replied to your post, the thread keeps a marker. Instructure says that in that case “Canvas shows a Deleted by notification. The notification includes your name. This entry cannot be removed.”
How do you edit a discussion post on Canvas?
Same menu, different option. Click the reply’s Options icon, select Edit, change the text in the Rich Content Editor and click Save. Instructure’s guide to viewing replies says that “if you are allowed to edit and delete your own discussion posts, you will also view Edit and Delete options” in that menu.
Edits leave a record. When editing is allowed, a View History link opens an Edit History window where you “can view any version with the date and time stamp” of the post. For a typo or a missing citation, an edit keeps your post in place, and the history shows what changed.
Why can’t I edit or delete my discussion post on Canvas?
Instructure documents these cases:
- Your instructor turned it off. Instructors control a setting called “Edit and delete their own replies” in the Discussions settings, which “can also be managed from the Course Settings page.” When it is off, “the Edit and Delete options do not display in the Options menu.”
- The discussion is closed for comments. “When a discussion is closed for comments students cannot edit or delete their replies.” You’ll see the message “This topic is closed for comments.” A discussion past its available until date also sits in the read-only Closed for Comments section.
- It isn’t your post. The student setting covers “your own discussion posts.” Instructors can edit or delete any reply in the course.
If the options are gone and a post needs fixing, message your instructor. They can edit or delete the reply for you.
If you delete a discussion post on Canvas, can the teacher still see it?
They can see that you deleted it. Instructure’s student guide says “Course instructors can see that you deleted your replies in the discussion,” and its instructor guide says deleted replies “display the name of the user who deleted the reply as well as the date and time the reply was deleted.” Deleted replies are hidden by default, and instructors “can also choose to view or hide all deleted replies in a discussion.” More on what Canvas shows instructors is in our guide to what teachers can see on Canvas.
The guides we read don’t say whether an instructor can still read the text of a deleted reply, so don’t count on a delete erasing it. People subscribed to a discussion are notified of replies, so some may have seen yours before you removed it. Here is what each change leaves behind:
| What happens | What Canvas shows | Instructure guide |
|---|---|---|
| You delete a reply nobody answered | Hidden by default. Instructors can show deleted replies, with your name and the date and time. | Instructor guides |
| You delete a reply that has replies | A “Deleted by” notification with your name stays in the thread and can’t be removed. | Student guide |
| You edit a reply | View History lists each version with its date and time stamp. | Student and instructor guides |
| Your instructor edits your reply | A note with the instructor’s name and the date and time. It can’t be removed. | Instructor guide |
| Your instructor deletes your reply | The name of the person who deleted it, with the date and time. | Instructor guide |
One note in Instructure’s settings guide says that when students may edit and delete replies, instructors “cannot view previous versions of their reply.” That conflicts with the View History window its student and instructor viewing guides describe, so assume your edits can be seen.
For a graded discussion, Instructure says SpeedGrader “isolates each student’s comments from the thread and combines them into one easily readable view for grading.” The guides don’t say how a deleted reply appears there.
Do group discussions follow the same setting?
Instructure’s guides disagree. The student guide says the edit and delete setting “does not affect discussions in course groups.” The instructor guide for the same setting says it “affects replies in new discussion topics, discussion replies, and discussions within course groups.” The quick test is the menu itself: if Edit and Delete appear on your group reply, you can use them. Graded discussions can also have peer reviews, where a classmate reviews your reply (how to do a peer review on Canvas).
Can you delete a discussion topic you started?
Sometimes. Instructure’s overview lists “Create, edit, and delete discussion topics” among the things students can do, with the note “Your instructor may have some of the above options disabled in your course.” Starting a course discussion is its own permission. If the Add Discussion button doesn’t show, Instructure says “your instructor has restricted this setting in your course.”
Where Silent Student fits
We make Silent Student, a desktop app for Mac and Windows from El Dorado Ignition LLC. On Canvas it drafts discussion posts and holds them for your approval, so nothing posts before you have read it. It signs in as you, so the edit and delete rules above apply to what it posts too. Your school’s academic-integrity policy still applies.
More: Silent Student on Canvas.
Questions people ask
Can you delete a discussion post on Canvas?
Yes, if your instructor allows it. Click the Options icon on your reply, select Delete and click OK. If Delete isn’t in the menu, the setting is off in your course.
Can teachers see deleted discussion posts on Canvas?
They can see that a reply was deleted, who deleted it, and the date and time. Instructure’s guides don’t say whether the deleted text stays readable.
Can teachers see if you edit a discussion post on Canvas?
Yes. When editing is allowed, a View History link shows each version of the post with its date and time stamp.
Why is there no Delete option on my Canvas discussion reply?
Either your instructor has turned off editing and deleting your own replies, or the discussion is closed for comments. In both cases Canvas hides the option.
Can I delete a Canvas discussion post after the due date?
Instructure’s guides tie the option to your instructor’s setting and to whether the discussion is still open. A discussion past its available until date moves to the read-only Closed for Comments section, and then you can’t edit or delete replies.
Sources
All fetched and checked October 29, 2026.
- How do I edit or delete discussion replies as a student? (Instructure, student guide)
- How do I view and sort discussion replies as a student? (Instructure, student guide)
- How do I allow students to edit and delete their own discussion posts in a course? (Instructure, instructor guide)
- How do I edit or delete student discussion replies in a course? (Instructure, instructor guide)
- How do I view and sort discussion replies as an instructor? (Instructure, instructor guide)
- How do I close a discussion for comments in a course? (Instructure, instructor guide)
- How do I view Discussions as a student? (Instructure, student guide)
- How do I create a course discussion as a student? (Instructure, student guide)
- What are Discussions? (Instructure)
How this guide was made. We read each Instructure guide listed above on October 29, 2026 and quote them directly. Where two guides disagree, we say so and quote both. We wrote the guide with AI assistance and checked each quote against its source, then re-checked every quote against the live pages on November 2, 2026.
Related: How do you do a peer review on Canvas? · Can you unsubmit an assignment on Canvas? · How to respond to a discussion post · How to write a discussion post · How do What-If grades work in Canvas? · All guides · Canvas
Written by the company that makes Silent Student. Silent Student is not affiliated with or endorsed by Instructure. Canvas and Instructure are trademarks of Instructure, Inc.