A new feature is planned for the messenger service WhatsApp.
The function refers to the sent messages.
Will it make users more cautious?
Mountain View - "I didn't say it at all" - in the age of WhatsApp, Instagram and Co., such a claim leaves most users of the messenger services cold.
After all, everything that was exchanged in the form of messages can be found verbatim on the smartphone.
However, the new feature WhatsApp is now said to be working on will change that.
Will users have to be more careful about what messages they send in the future?
WhatsApp: Messenger wants to allow improvements in chat - this is the planned function
Whether for chatting, planning or protesting - the smartphone is usually just a flick of the wrist away, the online status, which WhatsApp now also wants to optimize with an update, is sometimes even a stress factor.
In the digital world of constant availability, a message can be sent quickly.
It's only stupid if a transposed digit or a spelling mistake messes up the hasty exchange or becomes a thorn in your side because a serious message loses its clout.
In this case, WhatsApp had previously only offered the option of being able to subsequently delete the sent message, which was now available for two days;
either for all users in the chat room or only for the person who wrote it. If you wanted to send your text again in a corrected form, you had to save the content by copying it to the clipboard or start typing again.
According to
wabetainfo
, an information portal for planned innovations in WhatsApp, a new feature is currently in the works: in the future, messages that have been sent will also be able to be edited afterwards thanks to an edit button.
WhatsApp: New function to make messages editable afterwards - are users now more careful?
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WhatsApp: can edit messages again?
The new feature could affect the chat culture.
(icon picture)
© IMAGO / Michael Weber
WhatsApp's planned function of being able to change messages even after they've been sent seems to be a relief.
It was not initially known when the feature would come and how long users would be able to edit their texts afterwards.
However, the update could affect user behavior, as chats can be changed in mind afterwards.
Since conversations via WhatsApp definitely have - at least social - evidentiary value, it is conceivable that users will act more cautiously in the future.
After all, nobody wants their answer to be related to a different question than the one originally asked.
However, users can probably breathe a sigh of relief.
According to initial information, the app should show that the message is edited if the creator makes changes after it has been sent.
As part of the control of chats planned by the EU to combat child abuse, a tool that identifies edited messages as non-original is probably indispensable anyway.
It remains to be seen how this will develop in concrete terms and whether the triumphant statement “I have everything in writing” will continue to have an impact.
(askl)
List of rubrics: © IMAGO / Michael Weber
