Can it save us from our messaging mistakes?
With the advent of social media, communication is more accessible than ever. Well, too accessible if you ask us, especially if you send a message that you don’t intend to say in the first place. Mistakes like this often lead to miscommunication or end of friendships.
As a response to this problem, messaging platforms like Viber and Whatsapp, along with GMail, offer users the ability to delete messages—within a certain time period.
Facebook—arguably the most used social media platform—is set to introduce the said feature on Messenger after founder Mark Zuckerberg was found to secretly delete some messages on the messaging platform. Tech tipster Jane Wong shared how the feature will look like, and it’s pretty straightforward:
Facebook Messenger users will only be allowed to unsend their messages after a certain amount of times
Tip @Techmeme
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) October 12, 2018
In a statement to Techcrunch, Facebook’s spokesperson confirmed that “Facebook internally tests products and features before they ship to the public so we can ensure the quality of the experience.”
While it is a welcome feature for Messenger users, there are limitations. Since you can only delete messages within a certain time period, you can’t delete those drunk messages you sent to your ex (or crush) the morning after. In addition, Wong mentioned that you can only delete message for certain amount of times, which basically tells users to think first before sending that message.
