WhatsApp has announced that it will enable users to edit their WhatsApp messages , bringing it in line with competitors such as Telegram and Signal who already offer this feature. The company states that users can now edit messages within a 15-minute window after sending them. Meta, the US technology giant that owns Facebook and Instagram, also includes WhatsApp as part of its portfolio.
The feature will made be available to WhatsApp’s 2 billion users in the coming weeks. It counts India as its largest market, with 487 million users. “From correcting a simple misspelling to adding extra context to a message, we’re excited to bring you more control over your chats,” the messaging service said in a blog post on Monday. “All you need to do is long-press on a sent message and choose ‘Edit’ from the menu for up to fifteen minutes after,” it added.
WhatsApp will tag edited messages as “edited” to inform recipients of the content alteration, but they will not be able to see the specific changes made to the message over time. The announcement from WhatsApp follows the introduction of this feature by messaging services like Telegram and Signal.
“Edit” function of Facebook
Social media platform Facebook introduced the edit function almost a decade ago. Around that time, Facebook revealed that more than half its users accessed the site on mobile phones, which are more prone to typing errors.
On Facebook, updates that are modified are marked as edited. A history of the edits is also available for users to view.
Last year, Elon Musk‘s social media platform Twitter said it was giving its paying subscribers the ability to edit their tweets. Users can edit tweets multiple times within the 30 minutes after posting. “Tweeting will feel more approachable and less stressful,” Twitter said in a blog post at the time.
“You should be able to participate in the conversation in a way that makes sense to you and we’ll keep working on ways that make it feel effortless to do just that,” the platform added.
