WhatsApp to allow users to edit messages within 15 minute time limit

WhatsApp has officially announced the rollout of a new feature allowing users to edit their messages - but only within the first 15 minutes of sending them.

The popular chat app announced in a blog post on Monday their two billion users can now correct misspellings, add more details or otherwise change what they have sent to friends, family and coworkers.

The ability to edit messages has already been launched for people worldwide and will be available to all users in coming weeks, according to the company owned by Facebook parent Meta, which also owns Facebook and Instagram.

Texts that have been edited will display an “edited” notification, however the edit history will not be made available so the recipient cannot see what was originally written.

WhatsApp has quarreled with the UK and other governments over its chat encryption, with police forces wanting easier access to suspected criminal's phones.

This, and other recently added layers of protection, will likely lead to more clashes with authorities.

And the announcement follows a myriad of changes and updates to WhatsApp in the last few months, so, what else is new?

Chat Lock

Meta announced their new Chat Lock system that keeps certain messages hidden behind a password or their biometrics.

Chat-locked messages will appear on the app in the same place normal conversations do, but when tapped on users will be asked to enter a password to see them.

Users will not be able to see anything about the locked chat, including who it is with, until they enter the password.

In a blog post, WhatsApp said: "Our passion is to find new ways to help keep your messages private and secure."

One WhatsApp account, multiple phones

In April, it was announced people would be able to use the same WhatsApp account on multiple phones.

Describing it as a feature "highly requested" by users, they are now able to link their phone as one of up to four additional devices.

It operates the same way as when linking WhatsApp to web browsers, tablets and desktops.

Each linked phone connects to WhatsApp independently, ensuring personal messages, media, and calls remain end-to-end encrypted.

If the primary device is inactive for a long period, the app will automatically log you out of all companion devices.

Keep In Chat

The platform announced the introduction of disappearing messages - where you can set a duration before the text vanishes for good - in 2021.

But, WhatsApp acknowledged last month, "sometimes there’s that occasional voice note or key piece of information you want to keep."

The new Keep In Chat function notifies the sender when someone keeps a message, and the sender has the ability to veto the decision.

If the sender decides the message can’t be kept by others, the decision is final, so no-one else can keep it and the message will be deleted when its time expires.

Recent security features

Doubling down on security, three main features were recently brought in to help keep messages private.

Account Protect: Where verification is required when switching a WhatsApp account to a new device.

Device Verification: In a bid to combat mobile device malware, the app announced new added "checks" to help authenticate accounts.

Automatic Security Codes: Helping to ensure users are chatting to the right person, a function called "Key Transparency" allows people to automatically verify that they have a secure connection. By clicking on the encryption tab, they are able to verify right away that a conversation is secure.

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