WhatsApp may soon allow group admins to delete incoming messages

WhatsApp is testing a new feature that will give more power to group admins. While WhatsApp has long supported the ability to delete messages in chats, it currently doesn’t allow admins to remove messages sent by group members. But that can be changing soon.

As spotted by WABetainfo, the Meta-owned instant messaging app is testing a new change that may finally enable admins to delete messages for everyone in groups. What this means is that if you’re moderating a WhatsApp group, you’ll be able to remove unwanted or inappropriate messages sent by group members.

WhatsApp beta for Android 2.22.1.1: what’s new?

WhatsApp is working on the ability to delete any message in groups for everyone if you’re a group admin, in a future update! https://t.co/oI7fUiJiI3

— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) December 13, 2021

When a message is removed, WhatsApp will indicate that “This was deleted by an admin” and will also display who deleted the message.

As WABetoinfo notes, this feature is still a work in progress and isn’t accessible to end-users. We don’t know when WhatsApp plans to roll it out to everyone. Provided WhatsApp doesn’t scrap it, the feature will most likely first arrive on WhatsApp beta before making its way to the stable channel.

The ability to delete messages for everyone comes after we learned last month that WhatsApp was considering to remove the time limit for deleting messages. Currently, WhatsApp users have 4,096 seconds (68 minutes and 16 seconds) to delete a message after it was sent. But it looks in the future WhatsApp may let you delete any message you sent at any point in history.

WhatsApp has picked up several new features and improvements over the past few weeks. Last month, the instant messaging app received regulatory approval to expand WhatsApp Pay, a UPI-powered payment service, to 40 million users in India. Then this month the app gained new Disappearing Messages options, Novi wallet integration for payments in the US, the ability to preview voice messages, and more.

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