Following in the footsteps of its sister platform, Facebook, edited message functionality is making its way to the instant messaging platform, WhatsApp.
According to independent WhatsApp reporting blog, WABetaInfo, the feature, which is in development, has been anticipated by users.
Some beta testers of the app have received their first taste of the feature.
“Your messages will be successfully edited for everyone in the conversation in case other people are on the latest version of WhatsApp,” WABetaInfo reported.
“If you’re wondering what happens to edited messages sent to people that use an old version of WhatsApp, this shouldn’t be a problem as WhatsApp will likely release the ability to edit messages when all versions incompatible with this feature have expired, so people will have to upgrade to the latest version of the app that can receive edited messages,” the blog said.
The feature is set to allow users the ability to correct their mistakes quickly and easily without sending an additional message or message to rectify a mistake one previously sent.
WABetaInfo said the feature was expected to improve communication between users as it would offer users a way to ensure that their messages were clear, concise and error-free.
While deleting sent messages on the platform results in the pet peeve of many users stating a message was deleted, similar functionality or flagging of an edited message can be expected once the feature is rolled out to all users.
WABetainfo reported that editing messages might be allowed within only a certain time frame.
“It will be possible to edit a message within 15 minutes, and those messages will be marked with an ‘edited’ label within the message bubble,” the blog reported.
Last week, WhatsApp’s parent company, Meta, announced a new version of WhatsApp for Windows desktops, which is expected to enable group video calls of up to eight people and audio calls with up to 32 participants, in the hopes the functionality will increase productivity on the platform.
The company said WhatsApp users would be able to host group video and voice calls with more participants, with the potential of the increase even further in the future as Meta continued its push toward more community engagement, safety and privacy across all its platforms.
The new update is also expected to improve device linking and better syncing across multiple devices, which loads faster and is built on an interface similar to the mobile version of the app.
IOL Tech