How to Recall (Delete or Edit) a WhatsApp Message

It has happened to the best of us. You type a WhatsApp message, hit send, and only then notice it went to the wrong person (or the family group!). Good news: when we first wrote this guide you needed lightning-fast fingers to switch off your data. Today WhatsApp lets you delete a sent message for everyone, or simply edit it.

How to Delete a WhatsApp Message for Everyone

Open the chat with the message you want to recall.
Tap and hold the message. You can tap more messages to select several at once.
Tap Delete (the bin icon).
Choose Delete for everyone.

The message disappears from the chat on both sides and is replaced with a note saying “This message was deleted”.

You only have a limited time to delete for everyone: currently about two days after sending. After that, the “Delete for everyone” option no longer appears. “Delete for me” only removes the message from your own phone; the other person can still see it.

How to Edit a Sent WhatsApp Message

If you only made a typo, editing is better than deleting:

Tap and hold the message you sent.
Tap Edit (on some phones it is under the three-dot menu).
Make your changes and tap the tick or send button.

You can edit a message for up to 15 minutes after sending it. The recipient sees the label “edited” next to it, but not the original wording.

Tips and Warnings

Deleting for everyone does not guarantee nobody saw the message. The recipient may already have read it, seen it in a notification, or taken a screenshot.
Both you and the recipient should be using an up-to-date version of WhatsApp for deletion to work properly.
In groups, admins can also delete other members’ messages for everyone.
The old trick still works for the very impatient: if a message still shows the clock icon (not yet sent), turn off your data or Wi-Fi quickly and delete it before it leaves your phone.

Also see: How to Send WhatsApp Messages from Your Computer.