Have you ever sent a message with a misspelled word or you accidently sent a message to the wrong chat? Well those days of panic will soon come to an end because Facebook will be rolling out a feature that will allow users to “unsend” their messages.
Plans for the “unsend” feature were found in the release notes for the newest Messenger app update made available to iOS users soon. The note states that users will be able to remove a message within 10 minutes of sending it “if you accidentally send the wrong photo, incorrect information or message the wrong thread.”
The feature is currently listed as “coming soon,” but no exact date was revealed for when it would arrive on users’ phones.
Facebook first mulled over plans for rolling out the “unsend” feature back in April, and the announcement was in response to TechCrunch’s report that the social network had been quietly deleting old messages from its CEO Mark Zuckerberg over fears of future hacks and data breaches.
Months passed by without any additional updates from Facebook on the feature. But it was later revealed by TechCrunch that the feature was being tested internally.
While the feature faces some criticism, especially how “unsend” messages could have severe implications when it comes to evidence of harassment and abuse via Messenger to be erased, the feature isn’t exactly a new idea.
WhatsApp users can delete messages for up to an hour after they’re initially sent, and Instagram lets users “unsend” messages ever since direct messaging was first added to the platform in 2013.
By: Maytinee Kramer