WhatsApp tests message editing and text formatting options

Part of WhatsApp’s latest beta release, the changes aim to improve the user experience by adding options for editing poorly worded messages. At the same time, iOS users will find new text formatting options, useful for example for highlighting certain words in a message to a conversation partner.

With major implications for the way WhatsApp users handle messages sent or received, the news that the platform will soon allow editing of any message already sent is exactly the kind of change that could raise controversy. In reality, WhatsApp administrators are just exploiting the momentum that has emerged, with similar settings recently announced for rival network Twitter.

How to use it is as intuitive as it gets, with messages altered from their original form appearing with an “Edited” mark, informing the recipient that the message in question has been edited.

From a practical point of view, the new option for editing will function as an alternative to deleting the message completely and possibly resending it, allowing the author to correct any spelling mistakes.

To limit abuse of the edit feature, WhatsApp will allow only 15 minutes to review sent messages. For example, other online platforms set this limit at 48 hours, avoiding situations where users maliciously intervene to edit older conversations.

For now, it appears that the new functionality is in the testing stage, confirmed with screenshots taken from the latest WhatsApp Beta, with exact details of the new editing feature to be announced at the time of the official announcement.