WhatsApp has announced a new feature that lets users edit messages for up to 15 minutes after they have been sent.

The much-awaited feature gives users the ability to edit typos made after messages have been sent. Users are often prone to making mistakes while typing for a variety of reasons.

In a blog post, the company excitedly said, "From correcting a simple misspelling to adding extra context to a message, we’re excited to bring you more control over your chats."

The feature can be accessed by long-pressing on a sent message and choosing Edit from the menu for up to 15 minutes after. This means that once the 15 minutes time gap elapses, users can no longer edit sent messages.

WhatsApp added that the edited messages will be marked as "edited" alongside them, so those receiving the messages are aware of the correction without showing edit history. The edits users make are also protected by end-to-end encryption just as all personal messages, media and calls are protected.

Whatsapp said the feature has started rolling out to users globally and will be available to everyone in the coming weeks.

Just last week, the social media platform introduced a new feature, Chat Lock, to help users keep their messages private and secure.

Chat Lock allows users can lock a chat by tapping the name of a one-to-one or group and selecting the lock option and to reveal these chats, slowly pull down on their inbox and enter their phone password or biometric.

WhatsApp’s rivals like Telegram and Signal have long allowed users to edit messages. Even Twitter introduced the edit button for paid users in 2022. While the time limit to edit a message is not as generous as Telegram’s 48-hour window, it is still great news for WhatsApp’s over 2.24 billion monthly active users.