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Telegram users can delete any message in their private chat history
Telegram's ability to unsend messages is no longer a novelty among chat apps, but it's now taking that feature well beyond what you'd get from others. An update to the service lets you delete any message in your private chat history, whether you're the sender or the recipient. You can even wipe out an entire conversation (on both sides or just your own) with two taps. It's an audacious step, but one the company feels is necessary in the modern climate.
Facebook finally lets you unsend messages in Messenger
Facebook announced today that all users can now remove messages sent on Messenger -- a feature that had previously only been used by Facebook to delete messages sent by company executives. Users will now have a 10-minute window to unsend any message delivered through Messenger, whether it was sent to a single person or to a group chat.
Facebook starts rolling out Messenger's 'unsend' feature
Facebook didn't take long to roll out Messenger's unsend feature, although it may be a while before you have the option of correcting missteps in your part of the world. Unsending is now available in Messenger's Android and iOS apps in Bolivia, Colombia, Lithuania and Poland, with promises it will be available in other countries as soon as it's possible. The functionality is the same wherever you go, at least. You'll have up to 10 minutes to retract a message, with a marker telling others where the ex-message was. Facebook will keep unsent messages for a short amount of time in order to prevent harassers from using the option to cover their tracks.
Facebook will soon give you 10 minutes to unsend messages
Previously reserved for its top brass, Facebook's unsend message feature will soon be available to all. But you'll only get 10 minutes to take back that DM before it's read. The short window makes WhatsApp's hour-long deletion period seem generous in comparison. The Verge spotted the perk listed as "coming soon" in the release notes for version 191.0 of Messenger's iOS client.
Telegram's unsend feature can help prevent texting regret
Telegram's latest update adds a feature that would've been pretty useful this past holiday season: it gives you a way to unsend messages you regret. Unsend works for both one-to-one and group chats, so long as you do it with within 48 hours of hitting send. Apparently, one of the messaging app's engineers conjured up the solution when he accidentally sent some risqué Santa stickers to his mother. We don't know how true that is, but if you think the feature would be especially useful, you've got that careless, likely drunk, engineer to thank. Of course, you can't stop anyone from reading or screencapping what you've already written in chat, so you may want to keep locking up your phone if you tend to send drunk texts.
Goldman Sachs wants Google to 'unsend' email, seeks court order
Everyone makes mistakes... just some of them are a little more costly than others. A Goldman Sachs employee made a rather serious error when instead of sending a message to a gs.com email address, it went to a stranger with a Gmail account. That might sound innocent enough, except this email happened to contain the confidential data of a client. Google has blocked access to the message at the request of Goldman, so the user in question has not been able to read it, but the financial firm wants the internet giant to go one step further and actually delete the email. And that's where the two companies find themselves -- at a legal stalemate.
Texas man foretells dire outcome: messages 'I need to quit texting,' before driving into ravine
Despite our love of gadgets, we're not willing to give any slack to people that text while driving, and for one good reason: it's freaking dangerous. You've heard the grim stories before, but few incidents resonate to the heart of the matter like that of Chance Bothe from Texas. Despite his better judgment, the young man was texting a childhood friend while trying to bring the conversation to a close by saying, "I need to quit texting, because I could die in a car accident." That message was followed by one more, an unfortunate, "b right there." Regrettably, that final text caused him to miss a slight curve in the road and careen into a ravine. Chance is alive today -- thanks in large part to the fact that the accident was witnessed -- but the recovery hasn't been easy. In addition to a broken neck, a number of fractures and severe head trauma, he's already undergone two facial reconstructions. In the wake of the accident, Chance's friends and family have founded UnSend, an organization that dedicates itself to raising awareness about the dangers of texting and driving. Chance, too, is using his experience to educate others: "They just need to understand, don't do it. Don't do it. It's not worth losing your life."
