Facebook has introduced a feature in which users can delete messages from their conversations on Facebook Messenger within 10 minutes of being sent.
After sending a message, users will have two options: Remove for Everyone and Remove for You. Selecting the first option will replace your message with text stating that your content has been deleted.
While the new messaging option might provide some relief for chronic misspellers, the feature's origin has much more to do with overall security than simple editing.
It was reported last year that Facebook was testing out the feature after a number of sources reported messages sent by Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg had mysteriously vanished from their conversation threads. (Later on, it was discovered that other executives and higher-ups also had the power to remove their replies from Facebook conversations.)
In an interview with Tech Crunch, Facebook stated that the feature was made available to Zuckerberg for fear of what would happen if the company incurred a large-scale security breach, noting the 2014 Sony Pictures hack.
"After Sony Pictures' emails were hacked in 2014 we made a number of changes to protect our executives' communications. These included limiting the retention period for Mark's messages in Messenger. We did so in full compliance with our legal obligations to preserve messages," the company said at the time.
After Zuckerberg's ability to recall messages was exposed, Facebook announced their intention to develop a similar feature for all Facebook users, adding "some improvements to provide broader functionality to people using Messenger."
The new unsend feature is available for Android and iOS.
This article was first published in IBTimes US. Permission required for reproduction.
