WhatsApp recently announced a new feature that's been high on the wishlist of many users. This new feature? The ability to unsend messages immediately after they're sent.
In the feature's announcement post, WhatsApp says you have seven minutes after the message is sent to delete it, and that you can delete messages whether they've been sent to an individual or a group. Here's how it works:
- Open the chat containing the message you wish to delete.
- Tap and hold the message until a menu pops up. Scroll through the menu using the arrow keys and tap Delete. (At this point, you'll see the option to select multiple messages if you want to delete several messages at once.)
- Tap the trash can icon and tap Delete for Everyone.
The feature, announced at the end of October, is rolling out to Android, iPhone, and Windows Phone users worldwide. As with all things technical, there are a few caveats to bear in mind.
The most significant shortcoming of the feature is that both you and the recipient have to be using the latest version of WhatsApp. If they're not using the latest version, you're out of luck and the message won't be deleted. WhatsApp has also said that it does not confirm if the deletion was successful.
You should also bear in mind that, with everyone's phones glued to their hands, seven minutes is a pretty long time and someone might see the message before it's deleted.
If you would rather just delete the message on your phone, but don't want it deleted from the recepient's phone, just follow the same instructions above but rather than tapping Delete for Everyone, select Delete for Me.
What do you think of WhatsApp's latest feature? Is this the one you've been waiting for? Are there any other features you want to see in WhatsApp? Let us know in the comments.