Whatsapp to extend ‘delete for everyone’ time limit

Whatsapp will now let users delete messages more than an hour after they have been sent.

The app currently allows users to recall messages up to seven minutes after they have been sent as part of its ‘Delete for Everyone’ tool.

However, according to the site WABetaInfo, the app is increasing the time for users to delete messages they may have sent out accidentally or later regretted.

The new feature is currently being tested on select Android users, and it is unclear how quickly it will be rolled out globally. Some features do initially roll out in the beta but don’t find their way to the public, depending on how they are received.

After its initial launch last year, the option to delete sent messages was well-received. As a result, the original 420 seconds (seven minutes) window is being broadened to 4,096 seconds (68 minutes and 16 seconds).

There’s still a chance, however, that a user will have seen a message before you’ve had a chance to recall it.

Messages that are recalled are replaced with a ‘this was deleted’ message.

According to WABetaInfo, the feature will work for all WhatsApp messages, including, GIFs, files, locations and videos.

If you’re still new to deleting messages on Whatsapp, here are the steps you need to follow:

Step 1: Open WhatsApp and go to the chat containing the message you wish to delete.

Step 2: Tap and hold the message. Optionally, tap more messages to delete multiple messages at once.

Step 3: Tap Delete at the top of the screen then Delete for everyone .