WhatsApp might soon allow you to edit sent messages
What's the story
WhatsApp is working on a new feature that will allow you to edit sent messages. While the option to delete messages for everyone does come in handy in case you want to get rid of a wrong message, the ability to edit messages could make things far simpler and easier in certain cases. Here are more details about the new feature.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Popular messaging apps such as iMessage, Telegram, and Slack have allowed us to edit sent messages. However, WhatsApp, which is used by billions of users, has lacked this convenience. But things are likely to change for the better, soon. WhatsApp reportedly began testing the feature in 2022 and given the recent developments, the feature could be released in the coming months, if not weeks.
Feature
Edited messages will have an "edited" label
In order to edit a message, you will have to long press the message bubble and you will be able to see an edit option flanked by a pencil icon. An edited message will have the "edited" label displayed on the chat bubble, similar to how starred messages have a star label. You will have a 15-minute time window to edit sent messages.
Availability
You might not be able to edit captions
Once the message has been edited, a textbox will be displayed along with the following message: "This message was edited for everyone in this chat on the latest version of WhatsApp." According to WABetaInfo, the ability to edit is currently limited to text messages. You might not be able to edit the caption sent with pictures, videos, or documents.
Information
The new feature is still under development
The feature to edit messages on WhatsApp is currently under development and could be released via a future update. It was spotted on the iOS beta channel as part of the update version 23.6.0.74
Feature
WhatsApp is also working on single-play audio messages for Android
Talking about the Android side of things, WhatsApp is working on a feature that will allow users to send audio messages. These messages will be playable only once. The feature is under development and will soon be rolled out to beta users. The app currently allows you to send single-view photos and videos and is planning on a similar feature for text messages too.