WhatsApp users worldwide have reason to celebrate as the messaging platform has unveiled a highly anticipated feature—message editing. Mark Zuckerberg, in a recent Facebook post, announced that users can now modify their messages within a 15-minute time limit, bringing more control and convenience to their conversations.
To edit a message, simply press and hold on the message you wish to modify, and tap on the edit option that appears. The edited message will be marked with an "edited" tag next to the time stamp as an indication that changes have been made in message. It's worth noting that WhatsApp does not retain a history of corrections, so other users won't be able to view previous versions of edited messages.
"We're excited to give you more control over your chats, allowing you to correct misspellings or provide additional context to your messages," stated WhatsApp in a blog post.
Earlier, WhatsApp users had to resort to either deleting an entire message or sending a separate correction message. Last year, the platform extended the time limit to delete messages from 48 hours to 60 hours, providing users with a slightly more flexible window.
While WhatsApp may be a bit late to the game, its introduction of message editing brings it in line with competitors like Telegram and Signal, which have long offered this feature. Apple also introduced message editing and unsending in iMessage with iOS 16, and even Twitter introduced an edit button for its paid users last year. Although WhatsApp's 15-minute time limit may not be as generous as Telegram's 48-hour window, it still offers users an opportunity to rectify mistakes and improve the clarity of their messages.
For those who frequently encounter typos or wish to add more context to their conversations, the editing feature is a welcome addition. It eliminates the need to send multiple messages for corrections, reducing confusion for both the sender and recipient. Deleting messages can also cause confusion, as they are replaced with a greyed-out note stating, "This message was deleted."
According to Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, the feature is currently being rolled out to users and is expected to be available to everyone in the coming weeks. Stay tuned and keep an eye out for the update that will enhance your WhatsApp messaging experience with the power to edit and refine your messages on the go.