You can now delete messages an hour after you send them in WhatsApp

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WhatsApp has silently rolled out an update to change the way message deletion works for iOS users.

Originally the feature was announced in October, and users had up to 7 minutes to delete a message after sending. With the latest WhatsApp update, the time limit is now one hour, eight minutes, and 16 seconds.

If you are like me and you often type in the wrong window, this feature is extremely helpful. Or you can be that dude who likes to spam dick pics. Either way, time is on your side more than ever.

There is no explanation on why the time limit is so precise, and the support pages don’t explain the limit either. Some users demonstrated that it could be merely because 1 hour, 8 minutes, and 16 seconds is equal to 2^12.

It’s interesting the time limit extension was silently rolled out since an hour is quite a long time. WhatsApp is typically used for private messages as it is its own individual messaging platform. Private pictures and conversations are often held and stored on WhatsApp, and an hour is plenty of time to erase messages or an entire conversation. However, as I said before, this could also be a measure to help organize and facilitate discussions in WhatsApp.

A new WhatsApp for iOS update (2.18.31) is available on AppStore.
It is a bug fixes update, but it has the new “Delete for everyone” limit, that’s 1 hour, 8 minutes and 16 seconds.

— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) March 8, 2018

Are you a WhatsApp user? Will you take advantage of the time extension? Let us know what you’re thinking down below.

Amanda Adams

Amanda is a freelance journalist who enjoys naps way too much. I fell in love with video games when I bought my N64 and Goldeneye 007 with my birthday money... it's safe to say that birthday was epic. Let's chat!