WhatsApp's New Accidental Delete Feature Lets You Undo 'Delete For Me' So You Can 'Delete For All' Instead - MacRumors
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WhatsApp's New Accidental Delete Feature Lets You Undo 'Delete For Me' So You Can 'Delete For All' Instead

WhatsApp has rolled out a new group chat feature that lets you undo the "Delete for Me" action, to avoid potentially embarrassing scenarios where you accidentally delete a message only for yourself instead of removing it from the conversation for everyone.

whatsapp accidental delete
Called "Accidental Delete," the new feature adds a five-second window to let users reverse an unintentional Delete for Me action and completely delete it from the group chat.

Previously, if you accidentally tapped Delete for Me, there was no way to undo it, leaving the message inaccessible to you but freely viewable to everyone else. By introducing a small time window to roll back the action, Accidental Delete aims to help users avoid such situations.

WhatsApp says the new feature is available to all users on Android and iOS.

WhatsApp introduced the ability to delete and revoke messages up to seven minutes after they've been sent in October 2017. WhatsApp later extended the time window in which users can delete a message they already sent to a person or group to over an hour.

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Top Rated Comments

45 months ago
I don't really see the point in 'delete for me' feature except to manufacture a complete fabricated chat history. Why not just delete for all or nothing?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
peneaux Avatar
45 months ago
I use Signal and try to stay away from WhatsApp. Unfortunately a lot of people use it. I had to use a burner phone to register because I don't want Facebook to know who I message and get my phone number from someone else's contacts. I use it without giving access to my contacts list.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Burger Thing Avatar
45 months ago
WhatsApp wipes the floor with iMessages. It is so far ahead in its feature set and usability, it makes me really sad. And no, I don't like Meta and yes, I wish iMessage was a viable alternative used worldwide.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
45 months ago

I don't really see the point in 'delete for me' feature except to manufacture a complete fabricated chat history. Why not just delete for all or nothing?
Deleting videos and photos from WhatsApp chats when your phone is running low on space.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
45 months ago
Great example of not fixing the actual issue but adding another workaround. The obvious fix is to remove the "Delete for me" option as there are absolutely no use cases for this. And even if we pretend that there are, then that feature could be protected from accidentally pressing it. But hey, no, let's rather invent an undo flow that is available for 5 seconds that will have to be used by everyone because it is still way to easy to mistype.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sparky1499 Avatar
45 months ago
I just want an iPad app.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)