Facebook has started rolling out its “Unsend” feature on Messenger. This has started in Messenger’s Android and iOS apps in Bolivia, Colombia, Lithuania and Poland. However it will be available in other countries as soon as possible.
With the “Unsend” feature, a person can retract a sent message within 10 minutes of sending it. However, there will be a marker telling others where the ex-message was.
Facebook says it will keep unsent messages for some time in order to prevent harassers from using the option to cover their tracks.
Techcrunch reports that Facebook secretly retracted messages sent by CEO Mark Zuckerberg seven months ago.
Her is how it works, according to Techcrunch
“To use the unsend feature, tap and hold on a message you sent, then select “Remove.” You’ll get options to “Remove for Everyone” which will retract the message, or “Remove for you,” which replaces the old delete option and leaves the message in the recipient’s inbox. You’ll get a warning that explains “You’ll permanently remove this message for all chat members. They can see that you removed a message and still report it.” If you confirm the removal, a line of text noting “you [or the sender’s name] removed a message” (known as a tombstone) will appear in the thread where the message was. If you want to report a removed message for abuse or another issue, you’ll tap the person’s name, scroll to “Something’s Wrong” and select the proper category such as harassment or that they were pretending to be someone else.”
