WHATSAPP users were delighted when its developers last month introduced a “delete for everyone” feature, allowing them to withdraw embarrassing messages.
However the face-saving feature appears to have a flaw, allowing the messages to be retrieved.
Android Jefe, a Spanish Android blog, has revealed how Android phone users can access messages that have been deleted.
The blog reads: “We have discovered a way to recover or see messages deleted by the other person in a WhatsApp chat.
“What we found is that the messages are stored in the notification register of the Android system.
“So, it’s just a matter of entering that record to see the messages that the other person deleted.”
The messages will stay in the notification log regardless of whether or not it was deleted by the sender.
WhatsApp published a guide on how to “delete messages for everyone” upon release.
It wrote: “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.
Respond to a specific WhatsApp message in an individual or group chat
“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.”
To delete messages once they have been sent, just tap and hold the message, tap delete and then press delete for everyone.
However, to do this successfully both the person who sent a message and the person receiving it must be using the latest version of WhatsApp.
“Recipients may see your message before it’s deleted or if deletion was not successful,” WhatsApp warned.
“You will not be notified if deleting for everyone was not successful.”
The recall feature works for any type of message including text, images and videos.
