Google Messages to Introduce Feature for Permanently Deleting Sent Messages for All Recipients
Heck Yeah, You Can Delete That Shit Now!
In the good old days, hitting 'send' meant your message was set in stone, typos and all. But thanks to modern technology, we can now save ourselves from the cringe of a misplaced message. Many chat apps, like WhatsApp and iMessage, now come with options to edit or even remove a sent message from everyone in the conversation.
Of course, this doesn't ensure they didn't see it in the first place, but at least it disappears from view if they missed it. Plenty of apps have this delete option, but one notable holdout has been Google Messages. Until now, that is.
9to5Google first spotted the "Delete for everyone" option back in February, and it now appears to be slowly rolling out. You might have edited messages before, but the option to delete them completely has been missing. But no more!
This new feature aligns with the RCS Universal Profile v2.7, announced in June 2024, which allows users to "Edit, Recall and Delete [messages] that they sent earlier for themselves and the message recipient."
So, how does this "Delete for everyone" feature work in Google Messages? Once the feature hits your Google Messages app, you'll have two options when you delete a message. The old "Delete for me" option deletes it for you but not for others, whereas the new "Delete for everyone" option wipes it out for all users running a compatible version of Google Messages.
Unfortunately, there's a hitch: The message won't be deleted from users running older app versions. It's the Achilles' heel of the feature and applies to most chat apps that offer it. You'll never really know whether the message was deleted unless you're confident that everyone involved is running an up-to-date version of Google Messages.
As of now, the feature appears to be slowly making its way to beta users. If you want to be one of the first to try it out, you might want to enroll in the Google Messages beta. If you don't mind dealing with a potentially more unstable version of the app, head to the Google Messages Play Store page, choose "BECOME A TESTER," and follow the on-screen instructions to enroll.
With the rollout of the new "Delete for everyone" feature, Google Messages now joins the ranks of tech-savvy chat apps that allow users to remove sent messages. This means you can now permanently erase regrettable text messages within Google Messages, a missing option until now.
