WhatsApp time limit for deleting sent messages extended to 68 minutes in new beta

WhatsApp Unsend Message – what you need to know about the feature

WhatsApp recently started allowing users to unsend messages – even after they’ve been read. You need to move quickly in order to take advantage of the feature, but that might be about to change. 

Unsend, officially called Delete for Everyone finally came to the messenger app late last year.

Though it’s undoubtedly very useful, it’s also somewhat limited. That’s because you can only delete messages for up to seven minutes after sending. Once that time window has passed, the message will stick around.

However, WhatApp appears to be working on ways to improve the unsend feature. According to WABetaInfo, the latest beta version of the app lets Android and Windows Phone users delete messages that were sent up to 68 minutes and 16 seconds ago.

It isn’t clear if this time limit extension will make it to the official version of the app, but if it did it would make unsend just a little bit more useful, especially for deleting any embarrassing messages that you might have sent late at night.

WhatsApp is reportedly planning to test the longer time limit in the beta version of the iOS app too.

To unsend a WhatsApp message, follow these steps:

• Open WhatsApp
• Navigate to the chat with the offending message
• Tap and hold the message
• Choose Delete from the menu
• Optionally, select multiple messages to delete several items at once
• Tap Delete > Delete for Everyone

“Deleting messages for everyone allows you to delete messages you have sent to either a group or an individual chat,” the company explained when the feature was first introduced. “This is particularly useful if you sent a message to the wrong chat, or if the message you sent contains a mistake.”

Hitting delete replaces the message you sent with the following text: “This message was deleted.” That means if you do drunk-text someone, they’ll still be aware of your late-night social faux pas, but they just won’t see the contents of your message.

You’ll need to ensure that both you and the recipient(s) are using the latest version of WhatsApp, whether it be on Android, iPhone or Windows Phone. If they’re not up to date, the feature won’t be supported. You’ll be notified if an attempt to unsend a message wasn’t successful.

And of course, it’s always entirely possible that the person(s) who you messaged will still see your message before you get a chance to delete it. A pop-up notification could scupper your plans entirely.

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