One of WhatsApp’s key features is the app’s ability to Delete For Everyone when you mistakenly send a message you think they shouldn’t see or maybe you changed your mind about something you said. This feature, explicitly named “Delete For Everyone” redefines the meaning of sending a message, as users can “literally” discard their words by deleting the sent chat. This way, you don’t have to panic if you’ve written something by mistake.
However, while this function is great, you should understand that it has limitations. You may be wondering what these limitations are. Well, all of them have been explained in many of the frequently asked questions on WhatsApp. The article is not to repeat what has been covered in the FAQs but to reveal certain considerations to take note of while using the ‘Delete For Everyone’ feature.
1). For this feature to work, the sender and recipient must be using the latest version of WhatsApp. Only then will it work effectively.
2). Photos and videos posted to WhatsApp will most likely not be deleted from your iPhone even after the sender deletes them.
3). I’m having trouble sending photos or videos to iPhone users. This is because Apple’s privacy policy by default does not allow WhatsApp to access the phone gallery, so media received from iPhone users remains in the gallery even if removed from chat.
4). Even if you delete a message within seconds of sending it, the other party may have seen the message through the notification or app before it was deleted.
5). According to WhatsApp, the Delete All feature allows the recipient of a message to know that they have deleted the message. Anyone who has used this feature already knows. WhatsApp is still repeating this. Deleting a message leaves a trail, so the recipient may be interested in what the sender deleted.
6). WhatsApp recommends an hour-long window to delete the message — for everyone — and then the feature will stop working. This feature will initially resume for 7 minutes. Now, WhatsApp has extended to 1 hour. If you later try to delete the sent message, you won’t be able to. And even though you can still use ‘Delete For Me’, what’s the point?
Conclusion
These are some important WhatsApp things you should know before using the ‘Delete For Everyone’ feature, and they are listed on the WhatsApp FAQ page for a special note.
