WhatsApp to let people edit messages up to 15 minutes after sending

Latest update is part of a series of tweaks introduced by popular messaging app

WhatsApp users will soon be able to fix errors or add more information to messages. AP

A new WhatsApp update will allow people to edit messages after they have been sent.

Currently available on other platforms such as iMessage and Slack, WhatsApp users will soon be able to fix errors or add more information to messages.

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of WhatsApp parent company Meta, said the feature will be available to users around the world in the coming weeks.

When the update is installed, long-pressing on a message will make an “edit” button appear, allowing the user to change what is written.

The edit option will be available for 15 minutes after a message has been sent.

The option to delete messages was extended last year and users now have up to two and a half days to completely erase a message.

The new function, however, will not allow users to secretly change messages to avoid embarrassing situations or mislead viewers about a chat's content.

Changed messages will show an “edited” disclaimer next to them, alerting others to the fact that the message has been altered.

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The new feature can be used for “correcting a simple misspelling to adding extra context to a message”, WhatsApp said.

WhatsApp has introduced a range of small tweaks recently to make the app easier to use.

New features include “secret chats” and fixes for the way that polls and message forwarding works.

The app has been criticised for reportedly turning on people’s microphones while the app was not in use.

But WhatsApp has chalked that up to a bug in the software of Google’s Android operating system, insisting that it does not listen to users.