WhatsApp's new feature allows you to take back sent messages
That sinking feeling… we have all experienced it before, when you press “send” on a Whatsapp message and it goes to the wrong person or the wrong group and you wish you could crawl into a hole. Social Media law expert Verlie Oosthuizen chats about the legal implications of such messages.
Listen as Verlie Oosthuizen chats about to the Breakfast team about topic in the podcast then read below:
Finally, Whatsapp messages can be deleted with the new “Unsend” feature and in some instances, you can save some face - but there are certain conditions:
Read: Be very careful on WhatsApp
1. It only works for messages that have been sent in the last seven minutes;
2. It only works if you and the recipient are using the latest version of Whatsapp;
3. The recipient will be aware that you have deleted the message as it will say “This message was deleted” in place of where the message was in the chat – this means inevitable questions;
4. If you delete the message, even though seven minutes has not passed, it does not mean that the recipient has not seen the message;
5. If the deletion is not successful, you will not be informed of that and so you may be in blissful ignorance that your undesirable message has not been seen by the wrong people.
Legally, once 'publication' has taken place (that is the message has been sent and seen by others), if the message is defamatory then you could be legally liable. Also, any screenshot of the offending message only takes one second to take… which could be before you have had a chance to delete the message.
Still, this new feature could save us from many a cringe-worthy moments. Thank you, Whatsapp!
Read: How to politely leave your family's WhatsApp group
VERLIE OOSTHUIZEN
Shepstone & Wylie Social Media Law Department