Snapchat Now Lets You Delete Sent Messages

We have all said things we later regret, and the moment they leave your mouth, there’s no going back. However, digital forms of communication mean there is the option to rescind a statement, as long as you change your mind before the recipient reads it.

Each and everyone of you will, at some time or another, have sent a message in error. Whether by mistake, or sent intentionally only to be regretted at a later date. Thankfully, Snapchat now has your back, with the option to delete sent messages…

Snapchat Clear Chats Lets You Clear Chats

Snapchat has launched a new feature called Clear Chats. The name says it all really, as Clear Chats gives you the option to clear out messages and conversations from your chats. Which should put an end to drunken messages being sent in error.

To delete a message, all you need to do is open the conversation you want to delete a message from, press and hold on the offending message, and then hit Delete. The message will then disappear from view, never to be seen again.

If the people in the conversation have already seen that message then there’s no way of erasing it from their memories. However, if you’re quick enough, you should be able to delete a message before anyone involved in the conversation has seen it.

Either way, all of the recipients will be notified that you have deleted something. While this could lead to some awkward questions over what was deleted and why, that’s surely preferable to the alternative. It also deletes any paper trail of evidence.

Snapchat Saves You From Heartbreak and Hate

This might be a simple little addition to Snapchat, but it has the potential to save both heartbreak and hate. Of course, it will be preferable to not send messages-you-later-regret in the first place, but we are all human, and therefore prone to making mistakes.

Clear Chats is rolling out now on Android and on iOS. So if you don’t see it right away, keep the Snapchat app up to date, and you should gain the ability to delete sent messages within the next few weeks. In the meantime, just be even more careful than usual.

Snapchat isn’t the first messaging app to add the option to delete sent messages. In January 2017, Telegram added the option, and in October 2017, WhatsApp followed suit. However, given Snapchat’s popularity with teenagers, this should prove useful.

Image Credit: Susanne Nilsson/Flickr

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