Every 45-year-old’s favorite social network app, Snapchat, is adding a feature that will no doubt appeal to anyone sending ill-conceived jokes, bad pickup lines, or messages one may want to think twice about disseminating. According to 9to5Mac, Snap’s new unsend feature will let you revoke any unseen message, video, photo, or what have you.
Snap’s messages are already designed to disappear after they’ve been opened and read. But now you can delete embarrassing missives before your recipient has a chance to read them.
It’s dead simple to unsend a message, but there are a few things to remember: You’re not completely off the hook when it comes to sending and revoking unread messages. Recipients receiving notifications of your message will also be notified of your deleted message, though the special prize inside (nudes, I imagine) will remain hidden since they never looked at. And users can still screenshot message previews, meaning that offensive bit of humor you unsent might still exist as an image of some notification window or message list truncating your bad joke. To get rid of your unread message, just press and hold the message, hit the Delete option in the pop-up window, and keep your dignity intact.
At this rate, it won’t be long until revoking unread messages is merely table stakes when it comes to messaging apps. It’s a better implementation of message revocation than exists in services like Gmail, which only grants you a handful of seconds before your email is lost in the ether, inhabiting someone else’s inbox. Still, it’s a most welcome update. Ever since Gmail popularized the unsend email option, revoking sent messages (whether read or otherwise) has always been a welcome addition to an app’s repertoire of features. Instagram’s got it, so why not Snapchat?
The update’s timing coincides with the increased availability of Snap’s Spectacles glasses, which are now on Amazon. First sold exclusively through pop-up vending machines, it’s easier than ever to get some video recording sunglasses in the same box as your toilet paper.