X, the social network helmed by Elon Musk, has finally delivered one of the most anticipated features for direct messaging: the ability to edit sent messages.
Over the weekend, X introduced this long-awaited feature to iOS users, marking a significant step forward in messaging functionality. An engineer from the company announced the rollout, hinting that the feature will soon be available on other platforms as well.
“Save yourself from your own bad decisions (or typos) (or both). DM edits are here. You’re welcome.”
— X (@X) August 31, 2024
How to Use X’s DM Edit Feature:
If you’re ready to take control of your DMs, follow these simple steps:
- Open a Direct Message: Navigate to any chat in your X iOS app.
- Long Press or Tap the Menu: Either long press on the message you want to edit, or tap on the three-dot menu beside it.
- Select “Edit Message”: Choose the “Edit message” option, and make the changes you need.
What You Need to Know:
- No Time Limit: According to X’s support page, there is no time restriction for editing messages, meaning you can correct messages from minutes ago or even from weeks past.
- Five Edits Per Message: There is, however, a limit—each message can be edited up to five times. This restriction mirrors the same limit X imposes on editing posts.
- Privacy and Security: While X maintains a log of all edited messages for security purposes, the current version of the feature does not display a history of edits to users.
Why This Matters:
The ability to edit sent messages is a feature users have come to expect from their messaging apps. Popular platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, and Messenger have offered message editing for some time now. Even Apple integrated this feature into iMessage with the release of iOS 16.
With X now joining the ranks, the platform is not only catching up with its competitors but also improving user experience by reducing the potential for mistakes to linger in conversations.
Whether you’re correcting a simple typo or reconsidering the tone of a message, this new feature gives you the flexibility and control you need to communicate more effectively on X. As this feature rolls out to more platforms, it’s clear that X is committed to keeping its messaging tools relevant and user-friendly.
Stay tuned for more updates as X continues to enhance its platform with user-centric features.
