Update: WhatsApp now lets you delete messages two days after sending them.
Twitter may not be paying heed to requests for an edit button, but WhatsApp finally is! Users have been requesting an edit button for messages on WhatsApp for a long time now and it looks like the feature could be around the corner.
According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is testing an edit button where sent messages can be edited. Users will be able fix typos or correct any errors in the message. To do this, you will have to hold down on a sent message and click on the three dot menu, then tap on “edit” and you will be able to correct the message and resend it.
It is unclear if the message will be resent or will say “edited” on it. But WABetaInfo says that there will be no message history — which means the original message will not show up once edited.
There is no way to edit a message on WhatsApp so far and users relied on either correcting their messages using an asterisk or deleting a message altogether. On the other hand, WhatsApp’s rival messaging app Telegram has had an edit feature for years.
WhatsApp had planned for an edit button back in 2017 and was seen in the beta for Android version 2.17.26. But the edit feature never saw the light of day back then. We hope it doesn’t remain in beta this time and gets rolled out.
Recently, WhatsApp launched a “react to message” feature that has been widely rolled out. With this, users can hold down on a message to react to it directly with an emoji. With the testing of the edit function, WhatsApp seems to be focussing more on messaging features.
It’s worth noting that WABetaInfo mentions that “WhatsApp is working on bringing the same feature to WhatsApp beta for iOS and Desktop.” But we will know more details on this later.
There’s no date yet, but the edit button is still being developed and will come on the beta channel for testing soon. If you want to try it out before it is rolled out, you can sign up for the beta program.
WhatsApp is one of the most widely used messaging apps in the world with over 2 billion active users. Maybe after WhatsApp rolls out the edit button, Twitter will take a page out of WhatsApp and come out with its much awaited edit button on Twitter as well. One can hope!
Read next: WhatsApp will soon let you leave group chats on the sly.
