Inbox & team
Editing and deleting messages in WhatsApp
Updated October 18, 20262 min read
In WhatsApp via QR code channels you can fix a sent message or delete it for the client — just like in WhatsApp itself.
How to edit a message
- Hover over your message and click "⋮" (on a phone the button is always visible).
- Choose Edit — the message text goes into the input field, and the label "Editing" appears above it.
- Fix the text and click Save. Changed your mind — Cancel editing.
The client sees the new version of the message, and in Chato an edited label appears next to the time. Hover over it to see the text before the edit.
How to delete a message for everyone
- Click "⋮" on your message → Delete for everyone.
- Confirm: Delete.
The client will no longer see the message. In Chato it stays in the conversation with a Deleted label — so the team can see what was sent.
Limits
These are WhatsApp's own rules:
| Edit | Delete for everyone | |
|---|---|---|
| Time you have | 15 minutes after sending | 48 hours after sending |
| Which messages | Text and the caption of a photo, video or document | Any |
- Only outgoing messages — a client's messages can't be edited or deleted.
- The message must already be sent: a failed message or one that is still sending has no such options.
- Voice messages, stickers and locations can't be edited (they can be deleted). A photo or file without a caption can't be edited either: WhatsApp doesn't allow adding a caption.
- When the time is up, Edit and Delete for everyone simply disappear from the menu.
- For now this works only in WhatsApp via QR code. WhatsApp Business API, Instagram, Telegram and other channels don't have these options.
If the client edited or deleted a message
Chato shows the client's actions too:
- the client edited a message — the conversation shows the new text and an edited label; hover over it to see the original text;
- the client deleted a message for everyone — it stays in Chato with a Deleted by the client label, so you don't lose what they wrote.