Delete FB Messages

Facebook Messenger gets an unsend feature

You can now delete messages from everyone’s view on Facebook Messenger

By Shannon Liao


Image: Facebook

Facebook has come out with a feature that lets you delete messages from a conversation after you’ve sent them, as previously spotted in leaks. So in case you send the wrong message to the wrong person or make an egregious typo, you’ll be able to remove it in Messenger now.


It works when you tap on the message you want to delete within 10 minutes of sending it. Two options will appear: Remove for Everyone and Remove for You. Selecting Remove for Everyone replaces your message with text that the message has been removed by you.

FACEBOOK PROMISED TO LIMIT ZUCKERBERG’S DELETING POWER UNTIL OTHERS COULD HAVE IT, TOO

It’s similar to the power that CEO Mark Zuckerberg infamously has to delete messages he’s sent, as we first found out last April, after multiple sources noted that messages they received from the CEO had mysteriously disappeared. When questioned, Facebook confirmed Zuckerberg’s messages expired over time, citing increased security measures after the 2014 Sony Pictures email hacks.

After people found out that Zuckerberg (and, presumably, other executives) could delete messages but the average user couldn’t, they called out Facebook for providing preferential treatment to higher-ups. On the same day, Facebook announced that it would build an “unsend” feature for all users within the next few months and limit Zuckerberg’s ability to use it until everyone got the same power. (Those “few months” turned out to be nine.)

Facebook tells The Verge that the new feature will be available today on the latest versions of Messenger for iOS and Android. The company says the new ability is based on the Zuckerberg power, but it underwent “some improvements to provide broader functionality to people using Messenger.”