Facebook finally added a long-awaited feature that's previously only available to its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. For those who keep on accidentally sending messages to the wrong person, starting Tuesday, Feb. 5, users on Messenger can now delete sent messages in a conversation.
The addition follows Facebook's promise to make the unsend feature available to all users after it was revealed last year that Zuckerberg has been deleting some of the messages he sent.
While it's a great addition, the feature has some limitations.
Unsending Messages
Deleting chats in Messenger works by tapping and holding the message that needs to be deleted, after which it'll give out two options: to remove the message for everyone or to just delete the message on the sender's end (Remove for You).
Here's the catch, though: if a user had a change of heart after sending a message, it should be removed quickly, within 10 minutes after it was sent, to be exact. If a user missed the 10-minute window, it'll be in the conversation forever.
Also, while choosing the Remove for Everyone option will delete a particular message, in its place will be a notification that alerts the supposed receiver of the message that it was removed by the sender.
A Facebook representative also told Gizmodo that deleted messages will be removed from Messenger's servers as well, though it'll stay for a "a limited amount of time" before it eventually goes away. This is in case someone wants to report possible abuse that concerns the deleted message.
Zuckerberg's Deleted Messages
In April 2018, TechCrunch reported that Facebook's top executive has the power to retract some his messages. This has been apparently going on since 2010. When the publication asked Facebook about it, the social media company merely said it was done for security purposes, even citing the Sony Pictures email hack that happened in 2014.
Soon after it was exposed, many users called Facebook out, saying that the company is giving way too much special treatment to its top officials. In what seems to be a move to appease protests, Facebook immediately promised that it'll make the unsend option available for everyone in the future.
Zuckerberg didn't have the 10-minute window then, but when asked if the new time limit will now apply to everyone — including the social media company's higher-ups — a Facebook representative said "the change will apply to everyone including Facebook employees."
The unsend option is now rolling out to iOS and Android users.
