WhatsApp is finally going to let people ‘unsend’ their messages very soon, say reports

You'll be able to recall texts, images, videos, GIFs, documents, quoted messages and even Status replies

Aatif Sulleyman

Thursday 27 July 2017 11:06

WhatsApp is also believed to be considering bringing back the old Contacts list

(iStock)

WhatsApp’s hotly anticipated ‘Recall’ feature has moved a step closer to reality.

The new functionality, which would allow you to delete things you’ve already sent, is expected to be enabled by the company imminently.

Recall – also widely known as Unsend and Revoke – will work on all types of messages, including texts, images, videos, GIFs, documents, quoted messages and even Status replies, but only if they were sent within a five-minute window.

Gadget and tech news: In pictures

Show all 25

1/25Gadget and tech news: In pictures

Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy.

Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter

Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at California’s Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100

Google

Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019

Reuters

Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020

Getty

Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB

Apple

Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash

PA

Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once

AFP/Getty

India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology

EPA

5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s

Getty

Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018

Getty

A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore

Getty

A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore

Getty

Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea

Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty

Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea

Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty

The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company

Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty

Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea

Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty

Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi

Rex

Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session

Rex

A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China

Reuters

A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China

Reuters

A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China

Rex

A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China

Reuters

A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China

Reuters

A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London

Getty

A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv

Getty

Anything you sent more than five minutes ago will unfortunately be there to stay.

According to WABetaInfo, a fan site that tests new WhatsApp features early, the messaging app will enable Recall in version “2.17.30+�? of the app.

Version 2.17.30 has just hit the App Store, but Recall hasn’t been switched on yet. The latest version of WhatsApp currently in the Play Store is build 2.17.190.

Asked if it expects the feature to be enabled in the current build, WABetaInfo tweeted,�?The code says yes. They can wait more, but it's sure that it can be enabled in 2.17.30.�?

As noted by the site, Recall is a “hidden feature�? that’s disabled by default, and it will be enabled remotely as soon as WhatsApp’s developers think it’s bug-free and ready to go out.

That could happen at any moment, but there’s no way of knowing exactly when.

WhatsApp is also believed to be considering bringing back the old Contacts list that vanished with the arrival of Status, but only for iPhone users.

Join our new commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies