WhatsApp has become the most popular messaging app across the world, with over 2 billion active users. People rely on WhatsApp to communicate daily with their friends, family, colleagues, and more. With so much conversation happening on WhatsApp, sometimes you may send a message that you wish you could take back or edit. Unfortunately, WhatsApp does not allow editing sent messages. However, there are a few workarounds that allow you to edit or delete a message after it’s been sent.
Can you edit a sent WhatsApp message?
No, WhatsApp does not have a built-in feature that allows you to edit a message after you have sent it. Once a WhatsApp message is sent, it cannot be edited or changed in any way.
However, there are some workarounds and “tricks” you can use to effectively edit a sent WhatsApp message by deleting the message and sending an edited version. The steps vary slightly depending on if you are using WhatsApp on iPhone or Android.
On iPhone
To edit a sent WhatsApp message on iPhone:
- Long press on the message you want to edit.
- Tap “Delete” to delete the message.
- Then type out the edited message and send it as a new message.
This will make it appear as if you have edited the original message, since the previous message will be deleted.
On Android
To edit a sent WhatsApp message on Android:
- Long press on the message bubble you want to edit.
- Tap the 3 vertical dots icon in the top right.
- Select “Delete” to delete the message.
- Then type out the edited message and send it as a new message.
Deleting the original message and sending an edited version is the only way to mimic the editing process on WhatsApp.
How do I quickly delete a WhatsApp message?
If you need to quickly delete a WhatsApp message you’ve sent, there are a couple easy ways to do it:
On iPhone
- Long press on the message bubble you want to delete.
- Tap “Delete” to delete the message.
- Tap “Delete for Everyone” to delete the message for all recipients.
On Android
- Long press on the message bubble you want to delete.
- Tap the trash icon to delete it.
- Confirm deleting for everyone when prompted.
This will instantly delete the message so it disappears from the chat for you and other recipients. You have up to 1 hour, 8 minutes, and 16 seconds after sending a message to delete it.
How to delete WhatsApp messages after more than 1 hour
WhatsApp only allows you to delete messages within 1 hour, 8 minutes, and 16 seconds after sending. If more time has passed, the “Delete for Everyone” option will no longer be available.
However, there is still a way to delete WhatsApp messages from a chat after more than 1 hour:
- Completely uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp.
- When prompted, restore your chat history from a recent backup.
- The backup will contain all messages except for those sent within the last hour. So any older messages you want to delete will be gone.
This gives you a clean slate to permanently delete old WhatsApp messages from your chats and your chat partners’ chats. You can then be more selective about deleting recent messages going forward.
How to delete WhatsApp messages without the sender knowing
Since WhatsApp notifies the sender when you delete a message for everyone, there is no built-in way to delete a message without the sender knowing.
However, there are a couple of “tricks” you can use to delete a WhatsApp message without notifying the sender:
Turn off Read Receipts
In WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy, turn off “Read Receipts.” This stops the sender from seeing when you have read messages.
Then you can open the chat, long press the message to delete it, close the chat, and they will have no indication it was ever deleted.
Uninstall and Reinstall WhatsApp
Uninstalling and reinstalling WhatsApp will wipe all your messages as your chat history is deleted. When you restore from a backup, any messages older than 1 hour will not reappear.
So the sender will have no idea you have deleted their older messages this way. You can then be more selective about deleting recent messages.
Use WhatsApp Mods (Third Party Apps)
There are some third party “modded” versions of WhatsApp like GBWhatsApp that allow you to delete messages without the sender being notified. However, these come with security and privacy risks, so caution is advised.
How to delete WhatsApp messages sent by another person
You cannot directly delete WhatsApp messages sent in your chat by another person. Even the “Delete for Everyone” option only allows you to delete messages you have sent.
However, there are a couple indirect ways to delete messages sent by someone else in your WhatsApp chat:
- Ask the sender politely to delete their message using “Delete for Everyone.” Most people will oblige if asked nicely.
- Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp to wipe all chat history prior to 1 hour ago. This will delete all previous incoming messages.
- Block the sender so you no longer receive messages from them. Then unblock them later.
- Delete the entire chat thread to wipe the conversation on your device.
But ultimately, you cannot force deletion of incoming WhatsApp messages without the sender’s cooperation. You only have control over messages you have sent yourself.
Can WhatsApp delete messages automatically?
No, WhatsApp currently does not have an automated or scheduled message deletion feature. There is no setting to make messages disappear or delete themselves from chats automatically after a set time period.
The only automatic deletion that happens on WhatsApp is deleting messages that are older than one hour when you uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp. Your chat history backup will not contain any messages older than 1 hour.
Otherwise, any message deletion requires manual action on each message. You need to long press and delete messages one by one either just for yourself or “For Everyone.” WhatsApp does not delete messages on its own.
How to enable disappearing messages on WhatsApp
While WhatsApp does not allow scheduling automatic deletion of all messages, you can enable disappearing messages for specific chats.
To make messages disappear automatically within a WhatsApp chat:
- Open the specific chat.
- Tap the contact’s name at the top.
- Tap Disappearing Messages.
- Select a duration after which messages will disappear – 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days.
This will enable disappearing messages only for that chat thread. New messages sent in that chat will disappear after the set duration automatically.
Conclusion
While WhatsApp does not have an edit message feature, you can effectively edit a message by deleting and resending. Messages can be deleted quickly within 1 hour and 8 minutes of sending, or by uninstalling and reinstalling WhatsApp. Third party apps allow you to delete messages without notifying the sender, but have privacy risks. Ultimately, you only have control over deleting messages you send yourself. Enabling disappearing messages allows automatic deletion of new messages after a set duration in specific chats.