WhatsApp Starts Letting Users Delete Messages After They've Been Sent - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

WhatsApp Starts Letting Users Delete Messages After They've Been Sent

by

whatsappWhatsApp is currently rolling out the ability to delete and revoke messages after they've been sent. The function has been in testing as a hidden feature in several earlier versions of the mobile chat app, but is officially going live this week.

Going forward, WhatsApp users will be able delete messages from conversations and group chats up to seven minutes after they've tapped the send button, as long as both sender and receiver have updated to the latest version of the app.

The new option, called "Delete for everyone" will appear in addition to "Delete for me", and is already showing up for some users when they select a message to trash.

In a published support article, WhatsApp notes that recipients "may see your messages before it's deleted or if deletion was not successful", so the feature isn't guaranteed to work all the time. It's also possible that some users may still see the messages in notifications before they're deleted.

Users aren't notified if a delete request fails, but messages that have been successfully deleted for everyone will be replaced with "This message was deleted" in recipients' chat threads.

According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is currently testing group voice calls internally, so it's likely this feature will also turn up in a forthcoming update.

WhatsApp is a free download for iPhone from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Top Rated Comments

GadgetBen Avatar
116 months ago
Perfect, can't wait to try this next time I go out drinking
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Hater Avatar
116 months ago
Somebody give me an example of when this would be useful...?!?
5 minutes after you've sent a picture of your womanly parts and are wondering if it was such a crash hot idea.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
116 months ago
Flaws in the feature, and it should not work like that..

The whole point of deleting is that the other person shouldn't know we deleted... so if it's states "message has been deleted" that's wrong... also, we should not be allowed to delete if the other person has seen the message, it'll create a lot of problems going further between the 2, because the other person will say," it's my chat records, who are you to delete the messages without my permission, even if it's your own"

Whatsapp should also notify, that delete request was failed.

I can agree with the notification issue, because that's system wide. That would be Apples job, to change the system of revoking notifications, and figuring out how the phone and the app know whether the notification has been seen or not... may be Face ID would help in that case...
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ikir Avatar
116 months ago
Whatsapp staff: “ok which Telegram features we can copy next?”
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sausage.Biscuit Avatar
116 months ago
Whatsapp staff: “ok which Telegram features we can copy next?”
Yeah no joke. Most of my friends gave up Whatsapp/Kik for Telegram a long time ago.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
116 months ago
'WhatsApp' is still a dumb name.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 27 Next to iPhone

Here's When iOS 27 Rolls Out Today in Every Time Zone [Update: It's Out]

Sunday September 13, 2026 3:00 am PDT by
Update 10:04 a.m.: iOS 27 is rolling out now, though it may take a bit for all users to see it, so keep checking! Apple is about to release iOS 27, which will finally deliver more advanced Siri AI capabilities as well as a variety of other refinements, improvements, and new features to iPhones. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at Wednesday's iPhone event...
iOS 27 Icon iPhone

iOS 27 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday September 14, 2026 9:00 am PDT by
Update — 10 a.m. Pacific Time: Apple has released iOS 27. During its iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo event last week, Apple announced that iOS 27 will be released widely on Monday, September 14. iOS 27 should be available around 10 a.m. Pacific Time / 1 p.m. Eastern Time today via the Settings app, under General → Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight new features and...
Apple iCloud Plus expansion hero

iCloud+ Now Includes Apple TV, Apple Arcade, and Curated Apple Music Stations in Over 100 Countries

Tuesday September 15, 2026 1:43 am PDT by
Apple today announced a new subscription initiative that turns paid iCloud+ subscriptions into a broader services bundle in more than 100 countries. In select countries, Apple says every paid iCloud+ plan, including the cheapest 50GB tier, now includes Apple TV and Apple Arcade "at no additional cost," while family sharing extends the storage, TV and Arcade access to up to five people....