We all know that feeling of deep regret sinking into the pit of our stomach when trying to delete messages on Facebook Messenger. The type when you carefully crafted a lovey-dovey text to ask out your crush. You delicately added an elegant joke. Read and re-read, and read and re-read.
Consented with yourself, you hit SEND. Then…
You finally realized that it was way too cheesy and that any chance you’d ever have with this person had flown away with the text. You would want to delete that silly message along with that stupid joke. Who wouldn’t?
Then reality hit you: Facebook messages could only be deleted on your side. The damage was done.
“Mark Zuckerberg, you fool!” you screamed out.
Calm down, now. Facebook has realized how fallible humans can be. As a result, it offers us a chance to correct ourselves by launching a feature where we can easily remove our message on Messenger – whether it’s to one person or a group.
The Mystery
This feature hasn’t just appeared out of nowhere. If you’ve used WhatsApp, you’re familiar with the ability to delete sent messages. In October 2018, Facebook Messenger announced to be also working on its “Unsend” feature.
TechCrunch once revealed Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, had the power to delete his sent messages. Facebook claimed this disappearance on security reasons. Regardless, the social platform then promised to make this Unsend button for everyone. After undergoing testing for the last few months, it is now ready to roll out.
How to Delete Messages on Facebook Messenger: “Remove for Everyone”
As stated on the Facebook Messenger Blog, you’ll be able to remove a message from Messenger, whether it has been sent to one person or a group of people. Here’s what to do:
1 Select the Facebook message you want to delete.
2 Delete your Facebook message using the “Remove” button.
3 Unsend on Facebook Messenger by choosing “Remove for everyone.”
4 Confirm deletion to
The message will disappear, and be replaced by one telling everyone in the conversation that you have deleted it. You will have up to 10 MINUTES to remove a message after it is sent. If you want to remove a message just for yourself, you can still do that by selecting “Remove for You”.
Facebook Is Saving Us from Regrets
Starting 2019, Facebook is now a hero saving people from regrets.
While Facebook Messenger’s new Unsend button isn’t going to change the world, it may just save us the embarrassment of making whether a small typo or something more serious.
After all, haven’t we all said something in the moment we’ve later come to regret?