Thanks to WhatsApp's latest feature, the days of sending follow-up messages to clarify typos are now a thing of the past. Meta-owned messenger app WhatsApp on Monday rolled out a highly awaited feature that allows users to edit a message 15 minutes after sending it.
"You can now edit your WhatsApp messages up to 15 mins after they're sent!" Zuckerberg said in his Facebook post.
WhatsApp users can change their messages by long-press and choose ‘edit’ from the menu. To indicate that a message has been edited, the word ‘edited’ will be displayed alongside it, ensuring that friends are aware of the correction. Nevertheless, the edit history will remain concealed from others.
Apart from giving the option of correcting spellings or adding context to a message, the feature will give users the chance to rephrase it.
The feature has started rolling out and will be available to everyone in the coming weeks.
“We’re excited that you’ll now have more control over your chats, such as correcting misspellings or adding more context to a message. For this, within 15 minutes of sending the message, you have to tap and hold that message for a while and then select the option of ‘Edit’ from the menu,” the company said in a blog post.
“As with all personal messages, media and calls, your messages and the edits will be protected by end-to-end encryption,” WhatsApp said.
WhatsApp's editing feature however arrives with a delay, while other messaging platforms like Telegram and Signal, have been offering users the ability to edit messages. Telegram even offers users a 48-hour window to modify a sent message. However, until now WhatsApp users could only delete their messages.
How to edit sent messages on WhatsApp
Select the message that you want to edit by tapping and holding it. Ensure you’re doing it within the 15-minute window. Tap on the ‘Edit’ button from the menu that appears. The edit button has its own pen-like icon so it should be easily identifiable. Edit the message as you want to. Hit the ‘Ok’ button, or the tickmark at the bottom of your keyboard, whichever one your device displays.
