Deleted a WhatsApp Message? This 'Feature' Still Lets Others Read It

Advertisement
By Indo-Asian News Service | Updated: 20 February 2018 12:22 IST
Deleted a WhatsApp Message? This 'Feature' Still Lets Others Read It

WhatsApp users can delete sent messages only until 7 minutes after the text is sent

The WhatsApp 'Delete for Everyone' feature can wipe out messages you sent from the recipient's phones, but there's one way to render the feature ineffective. If the recipient quotes your message and replies to it, the WhatsApp message will remain visible in the chat even if you delete it. To recall, WhatsApp messages can be deleted only up to 7 minutes after they are sent, in both one-on-one chats and groups. After a message is deleted, the recipient is also notified about it being revoked by the sender.

Last year, WhatsApp rolled out this feature to allow its over one billion user base to recall messages in case they sent those to a wrong person or a group.

The Next Web notes that quoted messages in chats continued to show in quotes even after they were wiped. It said that this is not a bug and is a part of the feature. If a user sends a message and deletes it from a group or individual chat within seven minutes, the message will disappear. However, if within these seven minutes that message is quoted, then the original message will successfully disappear but the deleted text continues to show in the recipient's quote.

Interestingly, there is no mention of how the feature works in cases of quotes in the WhatsApp's FAQ.

Advertisement

This comes following the reports in which researchers claimed to discover other shortcomings in WhatsApp's implementation of deleted messages. In one particular flaw - discovered by Spanish tech blog AndroidJefe - it was possible to recover deleted messages from the Android notification history.

"Relying on third-party apps, users could browse the notification log to read purged texts," the report said.

Advertisement

The Independent later pointed out that this approach could only recover deleted messages that were read or interacted with.

 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. OnePlus Pad Lite With 11-Inch Display, 9,340mAh Battery Launched
  2. Realme 15 Pro 5G to Launch in India With Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 Chipset
  3. Can't Use Veo 3? Check These Free AI Video Generator Alternatives
  4. Google Pixel Phones Receiving Monthly Software Update for July 2025
  5. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 Launched in India With 4.1-Inch Cover Screen
  6. Moto G96 5G Launched in India With 50-Megapixel Sony Lytia 700C Camera
  1. Dark Dwarfs: New Star-Like Objects May Reveal Nature of Dark Matter
  2. NASA Astronaut Captures Rare Red Sprite Over Storm from Space Station
  3. Progress 92 Spacecraft Docks at ISS with Vital Supplies for Expedition 73
  4. Scientists Trace Universe’s Missing Ordinary Matter Using FRBs and X-rays
  5. Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra Now Available in a New Colour Variant in India
  6. Lava Blaze AMOLED 2, Blaze Dragon to Launch in India This Month
  7. Samsung Unpacked 2025: Galaxy Watch 8, Watch 8 Classic With One UI 8.0 Watch, Exynos W1000 Chip Launched
  8. Samsung Unpacked 2025: Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE With 3.4-inch Cover Display, Exynos 2400 SoC Launched
  9. Samsung Unpacked 2025: Galaxy Z Flip 7 Launched in India With 4.1-Inch Cover Screen, Exynos 2500 SoC
  10. Samsung Unpacked 2025: Galaxy Z Fold 7 With Snapdragon 8 Elite Chipset, 8-Inch Inner Display Launched in India
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.