This feature was recently announced by Apple for their iMessage app with the launch of iOS 16. While most social media platforms do let you edit your statuses, the ability to edit sent messages was still not present in most texting apps or even popular social media platforms like Twitter. So, it only made sense why Apple suddenly announced it might make third-party developers anxious.
This isn't the first time that Whatsapp has tried to make this feature work in their app. There were rumours that some beta users had seen this feature pop up before, but due to some unknown reasons, it was pulled from beta testing after some time. Now, it seems that the company is once again trying to work out the kinks in their code to make this a reality, hopefully.
While we do know that the feature is being tested, there is little information about how it will be implemented. There is still much speculation about whether it will be treated as editing a status on Facebook, as in something that can be done at any time, repeatedly. Or if it will be a short-term response, like how Gmail lets you recall sent emails for a specific amount of time, just in case you make a mistake.
Since they will have to store and manipulate your conversations to make this possible, it also raises some ethical concerns about security and data control. Only time will tell if and how the company will address these concerns, as well as how and when they will actually present the solution to the public at large. Considering their millions of users will certainly appreciate the chance to correct their mistakes.
