Have you ever sent a text message and immediately realized that it wasn’t meant for the recipient? If so, you may be wondering “Can I delete a text after I send it?” The good news is that you may be able to delete the text message you just sent from your device.
Can I delete a text after I send it?
There has been a common misconception that texts are permanent once they have been sent; but in fact, there are steps we can take to recall sent messages and delete them from the recipient’s phone. Texts can become permanent when shared with a third party, like screenshot or online post; so to protect yourself from the risk of texts being seen and shared, we should take preventive measures.
First, we can depend on text applications like iMessage to retrieve a text message that was sent within the past three minutes. All you have to do is simply click on the ‘message’ you want to delete, tap on the ‘delete’ icon, and click on ‘delete for everyone’ – this should remove the message from any user’s device.
However, if the 3 minute window has already passed there are other options. It is still possible to delete a sent text message even if the 3-minute window has passed, for certain devices. Android phones are able to recall sent messages simply by clicking on the ‘delete message’ icon in a text thread. By using this method, you can delete sent messages up to 6 hours after its original sending date.
Finally, here are some quick tips to remember if you want to remove a text message:
- Do not panic – You can still delete a sent text even if you think it’s too late.
- Apple devices – You can delete a sent text within the first 3 minutes of sending.
- Android devices – You can delete a sent text up to 6 hours after its initial sending date.
- Third parties – Be vigilant if you’re messaging important or sensitive information – messages can become permanent if shared with a third party.
Sending texts can all be a nerve-wracking experience, but with the correct steps in place, recalling or deleting sent messages is completely possible. So, the moral of the story – sending texts doesn’t necessarily make messages permanently – and therefore, we can continue to text without the fear of the recipients seeing everything we say.
