WhatsApp users beware: This popular feature has some serious loopholes

WhatsApp, with its 2 billion user-base, commands a strong presence in the world of communication. One of the biggest reasons for its continued success is the ease of use and the continuously-improving interface. WhatsApp has also introduced several new features in the course of its successful journey that has made it the most preferred smartphone app.

One particular feature that made sense in recent times is the "delete for everyone" feature, which attempts to save us all from a great deal of embarrassment. Much like disappearing messages in Snapchat, WhatsApp's "delete for everyone" works at user's command. If you frequently use this feature to cover your mishaps, here's something you need to know.

WhatsApp's "delete for everyone" isn't foolproof as you all must know by now. If the recipient has read your message, or worse captured a screenshot, the feature is useless. But did you know that WhatsApp's "delete for everyone" feature has more loopholes than you might think?

WhatsApp "delete for everyone" and its loopholes

WhatsApp's incredibly useful feature of deleting a message for both parties depends on whether both users have the latest version of the app. Assuming either one of you has an older version, the feature isn't going to work as intended on Android or iOS platforms.

If you sent a screenshot of your conversation to the same person you were having a conversation with, WhatsApp's "delete for everyone" is a life-saving feature. But it won't be any good if the recipient is using an iPhone. Apple does not allow WhatsApp to access device gallery without permission as a part of its stringent privacy policy. This means the screenshot or any embarrassing photo you sent to the wrong person cannot be recalled from an iPhone user who has certain privacy settings.

WhatsApp users have only an hour to realise their mishap and delete a message. But one hour is a long time for a message to be sitting unread on some phones. If you're lucky and the message is unread, go ahead of deleting it. But it is the first few seconds that are golden for this feature to work effectively.

Speaking of effectiveness, we are not always certain that the message is deleted for the recipient as intended. When we delete the message for both parties on our phone, it is erased from our chatbox, but there is no notification that alerts you in case the message was not successfully deleted from the other party's phone.