A not-so-distant past saw messaging as a one-way street once you hit ‘send.’ If your message contained an awkward mistake or went to someone unintended, pressing that send button meant your words were set in stone. The recipient could keep those messages for however long they pleased.
Today, fortunately, we possess the technological means to prevent such awkward situations. Numerous messaging applications offer features to either edit a sent message for corrections or completely remove it from everyone’s view within the conversation. While this doesn’t ensure that recipients haven’t already seen the original message, it does make the problematic content disappear once edited or deleted. Should someone miss seeing it initially, chances are slim they ever will afterward.
Many messaging applications now include an option to delete messages, starting with
WhatsApp
to
iMessage
However, an exception to this rule has been Google Messages. You have the ability to modify a sent message within 15 minutes of sending it, though you cannot retract it entirely. Fortunately, this policy is starting to evolve. As reported initially by 9to5Google,
noticed the capability to remove messages for everybody as far back as February.
Now, it seems to be implementing gradually yet steadily.
Specifically, RCS, the messaging protocol used as default in Google Messages, introduced this feature with the “Universal Profile 2.7” update released last July. This update enabled users to edit, recall, and delete messages they previously sent, affecting both their view and the recipients’ perspectives.
How does the “Delete for everyone” feature function within Google Messages?
Once this feature becomes available within your Google Messages application, you’ll encounter two choices whenever you decide to remove a message. The first choice remains “Delete for me,” functioning exactly like previous deletions—it removes the message from your device only. Additionally, there’s now an added option called “Delete for everyone.” This new selection will eliminate the conversation from every user’s interface who uses a compatible version of Google Messages.
The crucial point is this: Even though the message will be deleted for users with an up-to-date, compatible version of Google Messages,
won’t
It stands as the weak point of the functionality, and this issue is prevalent across most chat applications that provide it; once sent, messages can be removed from older versions of the app. This flaw affects nearly all such platforms: Once you delete a message, it will remain visible in earlier app versions.
really
Find out if the message was deleted, unless you can be sure that everyone involved has the latest version of Google Messages installed.
As reported by 9to5Google, the rollout of this feature is currently progressing quite gradually. They emphasize
One individual is testing the Google Messages beta version.
This feature is available for group chats with 12 participants, but it isn’t offered for individual chats. According to 9to5Google, they do not provide this option on their side.
To have the highest chance of accessing this feature early, consider joining the Google Messages beta program. Should you be comfortable using a potentially less stable version of the application, go to the link provided.
Google Messages App Store listing
, choose
BECOME A TESTER
, then follow the on-screen prompts to register.
If you liked this tale, make sure to follow
Dailyexe
on MSN.
