WhatsApp ‘unsent’ messages can still be read after deletion

The feature isn’t quite as final as first hoped
Gone for good? WhatsApp's 'delete for everyone' feature isn't as permanent as first thought
Carl Court/Getty
Ben Travis17 November 2017

Messages erased in WhatsApp’s ‘delete for everyone’ feature aren’t necessarily gone for good, a blogger has found.

The instant messaging app released an update earlier this year offering users the ability to permanently delete messages in a group chat.

Messages can only be deleted within seven minutes of being sent, but are meant to be gone for good.

However, a Spanish tech blogger has found a flaw on Android that means all received messages are still present in the phone’s notification cache.

iPhone X - in pictures

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Using an app called Notification History, the blogger was able to retrieve messages that had been deleted within WhatsApp.

The article doesn’t address whether a similar workaround is available on Apple’s iOS.

In a blog post announcing the ‘delete for everyone’ feature, WhatsApp explained: “Deleting messages for everyone allows you to delete specific messages you have sent to either a group or an individual chat. This is particularly useful if you sent a message to the wrong chat or if the message you sent contains a mistake.

“Messages you successfully delete for everyone will be replaced with ‘This message was deleted’ in your recipients' chats. Similarly, if you see ‘This message was deleted’ in a chat, it means that the sender deleted their message for everyone.

“You can only delete messages for everyone for up to seven minutes after sending. Once seven minutes have passed, there is no way to delete messages for everyone.”

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