WhatsApp has announced it has started rolling out an editing feature that allows users to edit messages up to 15 minutes after they have been sent.
The Meta-owned messaging service has started rolling out the editing function globally and it should become available to all users in the coming weeks, the platform said in a blog-post.
Messages that have been edited will have an “edited” notification displayed alongside them, although the edit history will not be shown so a user cannot view what the post said before it was altered.
“From correcting a simple misspelling to adding extra context to a message, we’re excited to bring you more control over your chats. All you need to do is long-press on a sent message and choose ‘Edit’ from the menu for up to fifteen minutes after,” said WhatsApp in a blogpost.
Previously, the only way to correct a message sent in haste or containing an error was to delete it and send a fresh one, with recipients alerted to the fact by the removed post being replaced with the phrase: “This message was deleted.”
“Edited messages will display ‘edited’ alongside them, so those you’re messaging are aware of the correction without showing edit history. As with all personal messages, media and calls, your messages and the edits you make are protected by end-to-end encryption,” it added.
Competing apps such as Telegram and Signal already allow users to edit messages, while Twitter rolled out the ability to edit tweets to select users last year. Twitter offers an editing feature to subscribers to its Twitter Blue service, giving them a 30-minute window to edit a tweet after it has been sent.
Meta’s founder and chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, flagged the WhatsApp change on his Facebook page, showing a message that had been changed from “Beast of luck!” to “Best of luck!”
Facebook, also owned by Meta, started to roll out the ability to edit posts and comments about a decade ago. Its fellow Meta social media platform Instagram allows users to edit posts but not comments.
The new Whatsapp edit feature has started rolling out to users globally and will be available to everyone in the coming weeks.
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