WhatsApp introduces long-awaited 'delete for everyone' feature

Published
7

WhatsApp introduced the much awaited "Delete for Everyone" feature, that allows users to delete messages from a group or individual chat.

The update had been in development for months and is now been made available for users. It applies to every kind of message: texts, videos, pictures, contact cards, GIFs, files, quoted messages, locations, voice etc.

The feature has two options: users can delete the message for themselves or for everyone. On iPhone, once users have deleted a message for everyone, the notification will be withdrawn from the notification centre of the recipient[s]. On Android, the recipient[s] will see "this message was deleted" instead of the original.

The feature is available in the latest version of WhatsApp on iPhone, Android and Windows. If the app on the sender or the recipient's phone is not updated, the feature will not be supported. However, according to WABetaInfo, the feature is "being rolled out slowly", so it might take sometime for it to be available to all users.

There is another catch. The message can only be deleted within seven minutes of sending the text. Once seven minutes have passed, deleting a text will not remain possible. It is also possible that the recipient[s] might see the message before it is deleted or if the app malfunctions and deletion is unsuccessful.

Despite the shortcomings, you'll still have seven minutes to rebuild your reputation.

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