We’ve all said things we regret sometimes, but once the cat’s out of the bag, we have to stand by our words, for good or for ill. Or do we? WhatsApp is now enabling a feature which lets you delete or revoke messages after you’ve sent them, enabling you to effectively take back what you’ve said and strike it from the record.
This is obviously fantastically useful whether you regret the content of the message, or if you’ve just sent it to the wrong person or group. Here’s how it works.
How to delete messages for all on WhatsApp
Here’s how to permanently delete a message sent to WhatsApp, according to their official site:
- Select the message.
- Click on the Delete menu item.
- Select Delete for all.
You will have 7 minutes from sending to delete the message. Once deleted, the note “This message has been deleted” will appear in the recipient’s chat. If the message is not deleted, you will not receive any notification message and, if you’re not quick enough, the recipient may still see the message before it is deleted (a whole new WhatsApp-related anxiety to welcome to our lives).
You can delete multiple messages at the same time, including photos, videos and GIFs. Broadcast messages cannot be deleted. An important requirement for successful deletion of the message is that your contacts also have the latest WhatsApp version installed for it to work.
How to delete messages for yourself on WhatsApp
It’s also possible to delete messages sent in chat only for yourself and not for the recipients. Why would you hide messages from yourself? Well, just in case you’re worried about someone grabbing your phone and snooping around. Here’s how it works:
- Select the message.
- Click on the Delete menu item.
- Select Delete for me.
Now we’ll be able to eat our words on WhatsApp, which should allow us some discretion when it comes to unfortunate drunken texts, heated arguments, or mistaken identities. Just keep in mind that everyone involved needs the latest app version, and the deleted texts still show that *something* was deleted.
Related: How to Backup and Restore WhatsApp Messages on iPhone 8/8 Plus
- Support to transfer, edit, backup, manage, view iOS & Android mobile data: Music, videos, photos, apps, ebooks, contacts, messages and more.
- Download videos from 100+ video sharing sites up to 4K HD video quality and transfer to iPad/iPhone/iPod/Android.
- Handy toolkit: Audio converter, video converter, ringtone maker, etc.
- Free
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