WhatsApp beta feature could help you delete your embarrassing past

Let your embarrassing WhatsApp messages be a thing of the past.

What you need to know

• WhatsApp is reportedly going to let users delete messages for everyone in a thread.
• The feature will likely be paired with an extension to when users can delete messages.
• It's unclear when the new update will roll out on devices.

WhatsApp is working on adding a new feature that will expand its message deletion capabilities and may prove helpful for users of the app.

A new beta was spotted by WABetaInfo that details the ability to delete messages for everyone in the thread after a specific time. Currently, that time limit is just over an hour, but WhatsApp may be extending that even further.

It's unclear just how long the "delete for everyone" feature will extend its time limit, but the folks over at WABetaInfo managed to have the prompt show up on a message sent more than two months ago.

It's very possible that WhatsApp has completely done away with the time limit, or it's merely longer than we expect. Still, the feature should be handy for those that stumble upon embarrassing messages for their past that they'd rather not have everyone remember.

That said, there are a couple of unknowns. Besides not knowing exactly what the new time limit is, it's very possible that WhatsApp will do away with this extension before the beta releases.

Additionally, WABetaInfo doesn't seem to know whether or not it will actually work on messages sent before the new feature rolls out or be exclusive to those sent after the feature is implemented.

If the feature does roll out, it will come to beta testers first before likely arriving as a stable update for iOS and the best Android phones.