How to edit sent WhatsApp messages

We’ve all accidentally sent emails and text messages to others that might have contained a typo or wrong information. It’s human nature. These days, it’s easy to correct those mistakes as many messaging and email apps allow you to unsend a message or email, giving you a chance to correct those mistakes before they are seen.

WhatsApp recently introduced a new feature in which users can actually edit their sent messages, meaning that instead of unsending a message, you can just edit the message that was sent. If you’re curious as to how to use this function, then this guide is for you.

Edit WhatsApp messages

1. Open the chat whose message(s) you want to edit
2. Tap and hold the message
3. On iOS, select “Edit”; On Android, tap the three dot menu at the top right corner and select “Edit”
4. Enter your new message
5. Tap the green check mark button to save the edited message

There are some things that you should take note about editing sent messages. For starters, it only works on messages sent within a 15 minute window. If you’re trying to edit a message older than that, you’re out of luck (for now).

Also, to prevent misuse of the feature, WhatsApp will be labeling edited messages with the “Edited” words below it to indicate that this is a message that was edited. This is to prevent people from claiming that they did not say what they said, because at the very least the “Edited” label will cast some doubt on their claims.

There is currently no way of showing the original message, so unless you’re quick enough to grab a screenshot before the message was edited, this is the best you’ve got at the moment, but hopefully it’s better than nothing.