Snapchat has rolled out a new feature that lets users delete messages from chats.
Messages can be deleted before they’ve been read by the recipient, which means it’s now possible to prevent a message from being seen altogether.
If the user has push notifications turned on, they may know that a message was received. However, they won’t know what the message says if it’s deleted before they open it.
Since push notifications from Snapchat do not contain the body of the message, there will be no way to see what was sent as long as the message is deleted in time.
Usually, messages sent through Snapchat would remain in the message log for at least 30 days until they’re opened.
After being opened, the message log would be cleared when a user closes the chat window. In group chats messages are automatically deleted after 24 hours.
Previously, Snapchat only offered the option to clear entire conversations. There has never been an option to delete individual messages.
Now messages can be manually deleted, which is helpful if a messages is accidentally sent to the wrong person, or a user has regrets about what they’ve sent.
To delete a message from Snapchat just tap and hold on the message you want to delete. Then select the option to delete the message when it pops up.
In place of the message will be a line of text saying that a message has been deleted.
Snapchat warns that this will only work if both users are using the latest version of Snapchat. It also requires a stable internet connection, as deleting a message involves removing it from the Snapchat server.
This update appears to have been made in order to comply with recent GDPR regulations, which require companies to give users more control over their data.
