Whatsapp to allow edits of sent messages

WHATSAPP is to let its 2bn users edit sent messages for the first time in a major overhaul of the social media app.

A sender will be able to modify for up to a quarter of an hour after sending it, after one of the biggest changes in the service’s 14-year history.

Edited messages will have the word “edited” added next to them, although other users will not be able to see previous versions of altered text.

On other Meta-owned social media sites such as Facebook, original text can still be viewed after editing.

A Whatsapp spokesman confirmed that edited messages would continue to be protected by end-to-end encryption.

‘You can now edit your Whatsapp messages up to 15 minutes after they’re sent’

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Meta, said: “You can now edit your Whatsapp messages up to 15 minutes after they’re sent!”

In a blog, Meta said: “All you need to do is long-press on a sent message and choose ‘edit’ from the menu.”

Whatsapp launched a private conversations mode earlier this month, letting some messages hide behind a phone’s passcode or biometric login. Chat Lock, as Whatsapp calls the feature, is intended for users who share their devices with others – such as, it suggests, children using a family device.

At the time, a Whatsapp spokesman said: “Locking a chat takes that thread out of the inbox and puts it behind its own folder that can only be accessed with your device password or biometric, like a fingerprint.

“It also automatically hides the contents of that chat in notifications too.”

Other popular messaging apps do not offer editing features, despite it being a popular request.

Meta posted its first increase in sales for 12 months last month, recording a 3pc revenue increase to $28.6bn (£23bn) in the first quarter of 2023. Profits were down by a quarter.