WhatsApp 'Unsend,' 'Recall' Message Feature Coming Soon? How To Use It Once It's Released

Most people know the feeling of accidentally sending a message to the wrong person and wishing to go back three seconds in time to not hit send. While there is currently no way to recall a message that has already been sent in a chat, there is building evidence that it might be possible soon. The messaging platform WhatsApp is likely rolling out a feature that would allow users to recall or delete messages they sent in the app from chats altogether.

Instructions for how to use the “recall” feature in the app appeared on WhatsApp’s support page, but promptly disappeared. A possible test to see if the page would work when the time came and the feature was live. The page can still be seen as a cached version of the site online. Some people reported seeing code for the feature in a beta version of the update, reported International Business Times UK.

Read: Why Does Snapchat Keep Crashing On Android, iOS? New Update Causing Outage, Users Say

The feature should be fairly simple for users to figure out once it goes live, whenever that may be. But there’s a catch, the messages can only be recalled within the five minutes following when it was sent, after that, it’s permanent. Once that five minutes passes there will be no way to recall the message, says the cached page of instructions on the support page.

How to unsend or recall a message on WhatsApp:

On an Android device, tap and hold the message you wish to unsend so that it’s highlighted, then you can tap “menu” and select “Recall.” On an iPhone or Windows device do the same tap and hold motion to highlight and select the message, then simply click “recall.”

Where a recalled message once was a notice that reads “This message was recalled” will appear in the chat, indicating that a user recalled the message. The feature works in both group and person to person chats. But all users have to be operating on the newest version of the app for the feature to work. So if you updated the app but one person in your group chat didn’t, the feature won’t work.

Read: WhatsApp Terminating Support For Android Gingerbread, BlackBerry 10 & Other Platforms

Just because you recall a message does not mean that whoever you sent it to didn’t see it, they might have viewed it before you recalled it, and if you attempt a recall but it’s unsuccessful you won’t be notified. If it’s a successful recall they’ll see that “This message was recalled” notification.

There is no current public release date for this feature specifically, so keep an eye out for it in upcoming updates of the app. If you click the description of the update in the App Store or Google Play it will likely list the exciting feature as a part of the update.