WhatsApp Now Lets You Edit Messages (But You Have To Be Quick)

While there are several reasons for WhatsApp's massive popularity, an extensive feature set isn't one of them. Things have been gradually changing, though, with software engineers at Meta working overtime to bring several much-needed features to the platform. Of late, the frequency of these feature drops has been increasing. The most recent feature update to the platform came last week when Meta finally gave users the ability to hide private chats under a "Locked Chats" folder. Today, it is introducing a new feature that has been on the wishlist of millions of WhatsApp users for a very long time — the ability to edit messages after they're sent. Given that iMessage users only got the ability to edit sent messages a year ago, WhatsApp isn't too late to the party as far as editable messages are concerned.

The importance of this feature could be gauged from the fact that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to Facebook to announce it. In addition to Zuckerberg's post, the company also detailed the finer aspects of the feature in a dedicated blog post. Meta is touting this feature as something that would let users correct minor typos or add more context to a message that is already sent. In addition to having the ability to edit messages, WhatsApp already allows users to delete sent messages. 

Once the feature is enabled for users, they can long press a sent message, select the "Edit" option from the menu, and make necessary changes. After editing, users can choose to either save the updated version or discard the changes. In case users do not see the option to edit a sent message, the feature may not have been enabled for you yet since the rollout is still in progress. While there is no denying that most WhatsApp users will welcome the ability to edit sent messages, there are some limitations to the feature.

To begin with, users have only 15 minutes to edit a message once they're sent. They cannot, for example, go back and edit a message they sent several hours or weeks ago. Also pertinent to note is the fact that all edited messages will have an "Edited" tag attached to them to let recipients know. However, recipients will not be able to see the specifics of the changes made to the message. Meta has also confirmed that WhatsApp's edited messages — like other chats on the platform — are protected by end-to-end encryption.

WhatsApp's edit message feature is still rolling out for users across the globe, with the company expecting the rollout to complete in the "coming weeks."