Snapchat's new 'Clear Chats' feature lets you unsend that message you immediately regret
- Snap introduced a new feature to Snapchat on Monday that lets you unsend a sent message regardless of whether recipient(s) saw it.
- This is different from the already available Clear Conversation option, which only deletes the content from your end.
- Clear Chats works in group chats or in one-on-one conversations, and applies to text, stickers, audio, or pictures and videos sent from your Memories section - not content you just took though.
- Important to note that the person(s) in the conversation will be alerted that a message was deleted; Snap said the function's purpose is to clean up a typo or prevent spoilers.
Snap introduced a new feature to Snapchat on Monday that makes its messaging platform even more ephemeral.
Clear Chats lets users delete a message they've already sent out, either to a single person or in a group chat, regardless of whether the person or people on the receiving end have seen it.
It can be applied to text, stickers (Bitmoji, for example), audio messages, or pictures and videos sent from your Memories section. It does not apply to pictures, videos, or screenshots that you just took.
The distinction is straightforward: If you swiped up and sent an archived post, it's deletable. But if you opened your camera and took a picture or video - or if you just took a screenshot of someone else's picture or video - once it's sent, it's sent. No deleting.
In order to use Clear Chats, just hold down the message you want gone forever, and select "Delete" in the pop-up screen. Confirm "Delete," and poof - your typo, well-intentioned TV spoiler, or facepalm comment will disappear from your phone and from the recipients' phones completely. All that will remain is an alert informing the recipient(s) that you've deleted a message.
Snapchat already had a feature called Clear Conversation, which deletes an entire thread of messages, but the content only disappears from your account. With Clear Chats, the message are removed from Snap's servers altogether, although the company warns that it might not work "if someone has a bad internet connection or an old version of Snapchat," so proceed with caution.