WhatsApp Rolls Out Undo Option For “Delete For Me” Messages

WhatsApp has announced a new feature that will enable users who mistakenly select Delete for Me instead of Delete for Everyone when deleting a message on the app. The new “accidental delete” function of the messaging service owned by Meta gives users a 5-second option to undo their deletion of the message for themselves before letting them undo it for everyone else. The feature is now available in both individual and group chats on iPhone and Android devices.

The messaging service tested the option to undo the action of deleting a message with some Android and iOS testers on the beta version of the app, WABetaInfo first reported in August. The company tweeted on Tuesday that the service is currently rolling out to all users.

WhatsApp is announcing the ability to undo “delete for me” on WhatsApp for iOS and Android!

It is finally possible to retrieve your deleted messages by mistake for a few seconds thanks to the undo action!https://t.co/s9ki4cSdjv

— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) December 20, 2022

The messaging app included the Delete for Everyone feature in 2017 to allow users to unsend a message from everyone in a chat if they sent it by accident. The rollout was initially only permitted for 7 minutes, but in August it was extended to 60 hours.

The voice-over-IP and instant messaging service is currently developing an “extreme” version of its 2020 feature – disappearing messages.

The messaging platform is developing view-once text messages, similar to the iOS and Android features for sending photos and videos that can only be viewed once. On an Android beta version of WhatsApp, the capability was discovered. Such messages cannot be shared or forwarded once they are sent by a user.

The view-once functionality for photographs and videos can presently be activated by selecting an image or video to share and then tapping on the circular “1” icon to the right of the caption field. According to WABetaInfo, the app may introduce a unique send button icon with an extra padlock for text messages with the view-once functionality; however, once the feature exits beta, the design may change.