Regret a text? WhatsApp will soon let you delete it - on both sides

Johannesburg - Instant messaging service WhatsApp is testing a feature that will allow users to revoke text messages within five minutes of sending. 

According to WABetaInfo, a cross-platform beta tester for new WhatsApp features, the Facebook-owned messaging service is testing a Delete for Everyone feature. 

WABetaInfo said in a tweet that the server works and will allow users to successfully recall a message they have sent.

• READ: WhatsApp wants to save you from drunken texts

If the server works, it does not necessarily mean that the feature will be enabled immediately. WhatsApp still needs to roll the feature out officially to users. 

WhatsApp will first enable and roll the feature out to beta users before it becomes a fully-fledged feature. To find out how to become a beta user for WhatsApp and test latest features, click here.

According to the Daily Mail, the feature was included in the code for version 2.17.30 of the app, but  WhatsApp still needed to enable it. 

Rumours of the feature first began in February, when reports suggested the messaging app was testing a feature to delete messages mistakenly sent to users in its beta version – a win for drunken texters and those who send messages they regret later on.

Prior to testing this new feature, a user could press and hold on a specific message to delete it. 

However, this function only removes the message from the device of the user who deleted it and not from the device of the user on the other end.