While iMessage gets the ability to “send” messages for the first time with iOS 16 beta, WhatsApp already offers a similar feature. But the Meta (Facebook)-owned messaging app is now releasing an update that will let users delete messages up to two days after they were sent.
Deleting sent messages on WhatsApp
The change in the ability to delete sent messages was announced by WhatsApp itself on its Twitter profile. According to the company, users will now have two days to decide whether to cancel sending a message in a private or group chat.
More specifically, WhatsApp users will have 2 days and 12 hours to delete a message after sending it. Previously, this limit was only 1 hour, 8 minutes and 16 seconds – that was specific. To delete a message sent in WhatsApp, simply tap and hold it for a few seconds and then tap the “Delete” button.
Interestingly, while WhatsApp is increasing the amount of time users have to delete a message, Apple is going in the opposite direction with iMessage. In the first beta versions of iOS 16, users had 15 minutes to remove a message. With the latest beta versions, this limit has been reduced to just two minutes.
The feature has been quite controversial as some users believe that options to edit and remove messages can be used for malicious purposes. This also prompted Apple to add a change history for edited messages in iMessage. Meanwhile, popular WhatsApp and iMessage competitor Telegram lets users edit and delete messages without any restrictions.
