With the latest update of the application, WhatsApp users can delete messages. An update that I'm sure many users have been waiting for. We have tried the function and report on our experiences.

The good news is, the deletion works.

The bad news is, there are some hurdles.

Usually it's not so bad when messages are sent to the wrong receiver. However, there are cases where language or text messages reach precisely those people who should not hear or read them. With the new function, will the wrong receiver not hear anything in the future? That is not an unambiguous answer.

Important when deleting messages

Those who want to delete messages must pay attention to the following:

• The WhatsApp counterpart must also have installed the new version. The problem here: Who knows which app version is on someone else's phone? You can figure that out at the next WhatsApp message dispatch if you just test if the deletion has gone off.
• If you want to get rid of a message from the receiver's phone, you can choose in the software "Delete for All" or "Delete For Me". Those who have accidentally chosen "For Me" cannot change that afterwards. The message is then only gone in its own view and can no longer be deleted for everyone.
• If you click on the "Delete for All" message, you will see "You deleted this message" appearing in your WhatsApp chat. At the same time, the receiver will read "This message has been deleted". Therefore, you should not simply remove messages without also sending a message to the recipient with the information why something was deleted.
• The deletion function only works for a short period of time. How long, BNN.de could not find out during the test. Therefore, those who do not remove directly cannot use the function. However, it is no longer as before that the function is only possible if the second hook in the message status is still missing.
• During the test, voice messages could not be deleted, and Android and iPhone were not compatible when deleting.

How do I delete messages?

• Double click on the desired message. Stay with Android long.
• Right click until delete appears / Disabled with Android.
• Click Delete. On Android, click on the top of the trash.
• In the "For Me" or "For All" delete dialog box select. Could not be done with Android.