WhatsApp will only spend 13 HOURS trying to delete your embarrassing texts to other people's phones after a huge change to its 'unsend' feature
- WhatsApp currently lets users recall messages up to an hour after sending them
- The app will now give up trying to delete them after 13 hours and eight minutes
- Messages will not be removed from others' phones if device was off that long
- One social media user has spotted a similar feature's prototype on Facebook
WhatsApp is cutting back its 'unsend' feature and will stop trying to erase embarrassing messages from other users' phones after 13 hours.
The messaging platform allows users to recall messages, including GIFs and videos, for up to an hour after sending them.
The app currently spends an unlimited time trying to remove the messages after that but it will now give up after 13 hours, eight minutes and 16 seconds.
The change means that messages will not be removed from recipients' phones if the device was switched off during that time, according to WABetaInfo.
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WhatsApp is cutting back its 'unsend' feature and will stop trying to erase embarrassing messages including GIFs and videos from other users' phones after 13 hours
One social media user has spotted a similar feature in development on Facebook, allowing users to 'unsend' a message which would be removed from a chat.
Jane Wong said: 'Facebook Messenger is finally working on 'Unsend Message' in the app for everyone!'.
However the feature has not yet been rolled out for all Facebook users.
When WhatsApp's 'unsend' feature was rolled out last year users could initially revoke their messages for seven minutes.
The time limit was extended to an hour, after which the app would spend an unlimited time trying to remove the unwanted messages from recipients' phones.
WhatsApp's FAQ page explained how sent messages can be deleted.
It read: 'Deleting messages for everyone allows you to delete specific messages you have sent to either a group or an individual chat.
'This is particularly useful if you sent a message to the wrong chat or if the message you sent contains a mistake.'
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The original 420-second (seven minutes) window was broadened to 4,096 seconds (68 minutes and 16 seconds) in March.
Messages successfully deleted for everyone are replaced with the words 'this message was deleted' in group chats.
After the deadline, WhatsApp users are only able to delete the message from their own device.
Other recipients in the chat will still be able to see the message.
In another recent update WhatsApp revealed it would delete old messages and chats from the Google Drive back up service.
WhatsApp is cutting the time it will spend trying to unsend embarrassing messages. The app currently allows users to recall messages up to an hour after they have been sent as part of its 'Delete for Everyone' tool. But it will now stop trying after 13 hours
Messages you successfully delete will be replaced with 'This message was deleted' in your recipients' chats. The previous time limit was only seven minutes after pressing send
Users who want to transfer old chats to new devices, or lose their smartphone, would lose old WhatsApp content at this point.
The new system will go live on November 12 and anything older than a year at that point will be deleted from Google's hard drives to free up space.
WhatsApp's parent company Facebook is also experimenting with a similar feature that allows users to delete sent messages.
The feature is being rolled-out to users today and those who have access to the feature will notice it can only be used a finite amount of times.
Jane Wong spotted the feature in the code of the popular app and shared it on Twitter.
She said: 'Facebook Messenger is finally working on 'Unsend Message' in the app for everyone!'
WhatsApp's parent company Facebook is also experimenting with a similar feature that allows users to delete sent messages (pictured)
The screenshots show how a message is selected and how the user can either select an option to 'unsend' or 'delete' it.
If the function is live for a user they will see a pop-up dialogue box appear after logging into the Messenger app and opening a chat.
By holding a finger down on a message that has been recently sent an option will appear to 'unsend" the message.
It comes many months after Facebook said in April it would be shipping such a feature for users. The social media giant only announced it would after it was caught deleting messages already sent by CEO Mark Zuckerberg to other users.
Currently, users can delete messages from a conversation, but they'll still appear in the recipient's chat log.
With the Unsend feature, they'd be able to delete it from both their own and the recipient's conversation.
When the option was fist spotted, Facebook refused to comment on when it would go live to users.
A Facebook spokesperson told TechCrunch: Facebook internally tests products and features before they ship to the public so we can ensure the quality of the experience.'
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