WhatsApp has granted users one of its most awaited features – the ability to edit messages.
“For the moments when you make a mistake or simply change your mind, you can now edit your sent messages on WhatsApp,” the Meta Platforms Inc-owned messaging app said in a blog post on Monday.
“Edited messages will display ‘edited’ alongside them, so those you’re messaging are aware of the correction without showing edit history,” WhatsApp said.
The firm says messages can be edited for up to 15 minutes after being sent.
The instant-messaging service is part of US technology giant Meta, which also owns Facebook and Instagram.
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.
Edited messages will be tagged as “edited”, so recipients are aware that the content has been changed.
However, they will not be shown how the message has been tweaked over time.
The feature will roll out globally in the coming weeks. Senders will be able to modify their messages within 15 minutes of hitting send.
To use the function, users need to long-press the message they want to change and choose “edit” in the drop-down menu.
Competing apps such as Telegram and Signal already allow users to edit messages. Last year, Apple also introduced the option of unsending and editing messages sent via iMessage.
In September, Elon Musk’s social media platform, Twitter, also announced it was testing the edit option and rolled it out to paying subscribers.
According to Jay Sullivan, Twitter’s head of consumer products, “edit” was the most requested Twitter feature “for many years”.
“We’re hoping that, with the availability of Edit Tweet, Tweeting will feel more approachable and less stressful,” Twitter said in a blog post.
“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,” it said.
Facebook, also owned by Meta, introduced the ability to edit posts and comments about a decade ago.
