WhatsApp sets over 13-hour window to delete message for everyone permanently

WhatsApp has modified its 'Delete for Everyone' feature to stop users from deleting older delivered messages. As per the new modification, the users will not be able to delete sent message after 13 hours, 8 minutes, and 16 seconds if the recipient will not receive the notification regarding the 'delete request' in the stipulated time, WAbetaInfo, an online platform that tests the Android features, has claimed.

The WhatsApp feature, 'Delete for Everyone', was launched in December last year. Earlier the limit to delete a message was 7 minutes. This was later increased to 1 hour and 8 minutes and 16 seconds. But now the company has put some riders by making it mandatory that the recipient also receives the message to be able to delete it from everyone's WhatsApp account.

"WhatsApp has updated the "Recipient limit". What does it mean? If you delete a message for everyone, but the recipient won't receive the revoke request within 13h, 8m, 16s (maybe because the phone was off), the message will **not** be revoked," WABetaInfo tweeted.

The platform claimed that the step has been taken as part of a protection against "modded users" that revoked messages sent weeks, months and years ago. The 'modded users' are those who use modified versions of an application. "You can still delete a message for everyone within 1h, 8m, 16s as long as the recipient will receive your revoke request within 13h, 8m, 16s," the platform claimed.

This also means that if the recipient does not receive the 'delete message' request within 13h, 8m, 16s -- in case of network issue or if the user's device is off -- it can't be deleted from the sender's end.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp is also been trying to figure out a way to make its investment profitable by advertising on the platform. With restraints like end-to-end encryption, the company has so far struggled to introduce chat-based advertisement.

But now it may soon roll out ads in the 'Status' feature, just like Instagram's stories. So far, WhatsApp's 'Status' feature allows the user to post a series of pictures or videos that are on the platform for a limited period, but soon the ads could be squeezed in between posts. There is no confirmation from WhatsApp, but if the feature is being tested in beta, the stable version of the app might receive the update soon.

Edited by Manoj Sharma