WhatsApp launches (lifesaving) edit button globally

You know how it is – you fire off a flurry of messages – only having to send follow-up texts explaining what you actually meant. Or even worse…having to ‘Delete for Everyone’… Well this will soon be a thing of the past thanks to WhatApp’s new feature.

Editing a message you already sent.

How to use WhatsApp Edit function:

Send a message to someone or group chat
Press and hold on the message (do this withing 15 minutes of first sending it)
Tap the “edit” option
Edit the message and confirm

Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg noted in a Facebook post that users can now modify their messages after sending it. There’s only one catch – it has to be done within 15 minutes of sending. After which point, the message will stay put.

In a blog post, WhatsApp announced that this function will give users more “control” over their 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.

Many users have welcomed the new feature. However, WhatsApp has been spitting rumours of its editing feature for years now – and it is a head-scratcher why it is only now materialising. Interestingly, other messaging services have had this feature.

Platforms like Telegram and Signal have long offered an edit function. Note: Telegram offers a generous 48-hour window to modify a message. Apple, with iOS 16, introduced the ability to edit and unsend messages sent via iMessage. Even Twitter has an edit function for its paid users – since last year.

WhatsApp says that edited messages will have an “edited” tag next to the time stamp. This way people will know a change took place. Do not worry! Other users won’t be able to see previous versions of edited messages. So your true intentions will be for you alone, and the other person will be left wondering what you said. (smiling devil emoji)

Meta is rolling the feature out from today. Global users on both iOS and Android can enjoy editing their messages from today or in the coming weeks.