WHATSAPP allows users to delete embarrassing messages after sending them – but the system is far from foolproof.
A TikTok star recently went viral after sharing a workaround that allows users of the chat app to read retracted messages.
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Brit gadget guru “TA Tech Tips” shared the cheeky trick with his 565,000 followers on the Chinese video-sharing platform.
“We’ve all been in a chat where someone has deleted a message and you’re dying to know what it says,” the TikTok techie says in the clip.
“With Android, you can do this by going to your notification history in your settings.”
To do that, open the Settings app on your Android device and search for “notification history”. Tap it and select “On”.
Now, when you receive a message that is later deleted, you can retrieve it by heading back to your notification history.
As before, launch the settings app and search “notification history”. Tap on it. The deleted messages will appear under “Recently dismissed”.
Unfortunately, Apple’s iOS operating system doesn’t come with a notification log, so the trick won’t work on your iPhone.
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HOW TO DELETE WHATSAPP MESSAGES
WhatsApp has allowed users to delete their recently sent messages since 2017.
The app published a guide on how to “delete messages for everyone” upon release.
It wrote: “Deleting messages for everyone allows you to delete specific messages you have sent to either a group or an individual chat.
“This is particularly useful if you sent a message to the wrong chat or if the message you sent contains a mistake.
“Messages you successfully delete for everyone will be replaced with ‘This message was deleted’ in your recipients’ chats.
“Similarly, if you see ‘this message was deleted’ in a chat, it means that the sender deleted their message for everyone.
“You can only delete messages for everyone for up to seven minutes after sending. Once seven minutes have passed, there is no way to delete messages for everyone.”
To delete messages once they have been sent, just tap and hold the message, tap delete and then press delete for everyone.
However, to do this successfully both the person who sent a message and the person receiving it must be using the latest version of WhatsApp.
“Recipients may see your message before it’s deleted or if deletion was not successful,” WhatsApp warned.
“You will not be notified if deleting for everyone was not successful.”
The recall feature works for any type of message including text, images and videos.
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