Can I Delete a WhatsApp Message Before Its Read?

Can I Delete a WhatsApp Message Before Its Read?

For many WhatsApp users, the ability to delete a message before it is read by its recipient is an attractive feature. After all, who hasn’t sent a message to the wrong person or posted something that they immediately regretted? Fortunately, WhatsApp has implemented the ability to delete messages within seven minutes of sending them.

When deleting messages, it is important to understand that not all messages can be deleted. For example, if you have sent a message that has already been read by its recipient, you can no longer delete it from their end. Furthermore, if the recipient of your message has already replied to your deleted message, then the reply will remain visible in the conversation.

It is also important to note that when you delete a message from your device, it will still remain visible on the sender’s device and in any backups they may have made of their conversations. This means that if someone else has access to their device or backups, they may see your deleted message.

If you have sent a message and then immediately realised that you made a mistake or said something inappropriate, then you can try deleting it before it is seen by its recipient. To do this, open WhatsApp and select the message that you want to delete.

Then tap on the ‘Delete’ button at the top right corner of your screen and select ‘Delete for Everyone’ from the list of options. Your selected messages will then be deleted from both ends of the conversation – yours and your recipient’s.

In conclusion, while WhatsApp does allow users to delete messages before they are read by their recipients within seven minutes of sending them, there are certain caveats associated with this feature such as not being able to delete messages if they have already been read or replied to by their recipients and not being able to guarantee that someone else with access to backups won’t see them either.