WhatsApp has announced that it will introduce a new feature allowing users to edit their messages, bringing it in line with competitors such as Telegram and Discord.
According to the company, users will have the ability to make edits within 15 minutes of sending a message. WhatsApp, a popular instant messaging service, is owned by Meta, a US technology giant that also holds ownership of Facebook and Instagram.
This new editing feature will be rolled out to WhatsApp’s vast user base of 2 billion people in the coming weeks. With 487 million users, India stands as the largest market for the messaging platform.
In a blog post on Monday, the messaging service expressed its enthusiasm for giving users greater control over their chats, allowing for anything from simple typo corrections to providing additional context.
To edit a sent message, users can long-press on the message and select the “Edit” option from the menu. Edited messages will be clearly labeled as “edited,” ensuring recipients are aware that changes have been made. However, the specific modifications made to the message will not be visible to the recipients.
WhatsApp’s decision to introduce the editing feature follows in the footsteps of messaging services like Telegram and Signal, which have already implemented this functionality.
The concept of editing posts was initially pioneered by Facebook, the social media platform that introduced the feature nearly ten years ago. During that time, Facebook acknowledged that a significant portion of its users accessed the platform via mobile phones, which are more susceptible to typing errors.
On Facebook, edited updates are clearly labeled as such, and users can access a history of the edits made to a post.
In a similar vein, Twitter, the social media platform led by Elon Musk, announced last year that it would grant editing capabilities to its paying subscribers. This feature allows users to make edits to their tweets within a 30-minute window after posting.
According to Twitter, this change aimed to make tweeting a more approachable and less stressful experience. The platform emphasized its commitment to enabling users to engage in conversations in a way that feels natural and effortless, promising ongoing improvements in this regard.