The long-awaited edit history option was added to iOS 16’s new iMessage editing tool in the latest developer beta issued by Apple on Wednesday. This alleviates prior worries that the capability could be exploited by others by modifying the transmitted message without the recipient being aware of the original text.
Twitter faced the same problem when rumors of the similar feature for its site leaked online. However, it was later disclosed by multiple app leakers that the app giant is testing a method to allow users to access the tweets’ revision history. Apple followed suit with the release of the next developer beta.
Here, the text “Altered” appears beneath an edited message. Tapping it reveals the various versions of the changes, which look as gray bubbles. To make viewing the changes more quick and straightforward, they will appear above the most recent version of the altered message.
Once you’re finished, you can simply press “Hide Edits” below the message to remove the history. Since a single message can only be modified a maximum of five times, iMessage’s edit history will not require too much space when it is revealed. Once this limit has been reached, the “Edit” option will no longer be accessible when long-pressing a message.
In addition, Apple included a modification pertaining to unsending messages. From up to fifteen minutes, the duration has been decreased to two. (Editing a message, however, still requires 15 minutes.) With these modifications, iOS 16 users may want to be extra cautious while composing and sending messages, especially because Apple is attempting to increase the transparency of its messaging service.
