After a long wait, in late 2017, WhatsApp introduced the most requested functionality by its users: eliminating sent messages. It's a very useful tool that we've all used on some occasion to go back and delete badly typed messages, that were on the way to another conversation or regret right after sending them.
Even
though it is an app that we use constantly, we still keep abusing WhatsApp. Thus,
it is possible that when deleting WhatsApp messages, you do not take into
account some of the main aspects which may spoil the purpose of the function. To help
you out, we explain what you should consider if you want to delete WhatsApp
messages successfully.
If you are one of those who usually make a mistake when sending
messages on WhatsApp and you have to resort to the “Delete for everyone”
option, there are several things that you must take into account to master the
job.
You have a limit of 60 minutes to be able to delete a message
The ability to delete messages sent on WhatsApp started with a
limit of 7 minutes, which was later extended to 60 minutes. This is
the maximum time you should delete the message you sent to other members of the
conversation, even though some have already read it.
If 60 minutes have passed, WhatsApp will no longer give you the
ability to delete the message for everyone. This way, your text,
audio or video will stay on other people's phones forever.
Not usable in older versions of WhatsApp
The function of deleting messages on WhatsApp is only available
in the latest versions of WhatsApp. Therefore, if you are
chatting with someone who uses old versions of the application, you should know
that deleting messages will not achieve any benefit, because the function is
not useful in those versions and therefore if you delete it, it will still
appear at the other end.
There are apps that collect deleted messages
although they are not well known, there are Android apps that
are dedicated to recover messages deleted by other contacts and show you their
content. This way, the more
quickly you delete the message, the other party will be able to see its content.
If any of them use this type of application, they will be able
to easily see the content of the messages you delete, no matter how quickly you
do it. This is
another thing to keep in mind when deleting a message, although you can't do
anything to avoid it.
As an additional point, we mention that other contacts will be
able to read the message if they were in the conversation before it was deleted. If you
are not quick to scan or the deletion is unsuccessful, they will most likely
give the other person time to read the message before the “This message has
been deleted” message appears. Also, you should be aware
that WhatsApp will not send you a notification if the message is not
successfully deleted.
