Frankly, communication technology has advanced by leaps and bounds, and now almost all Android-oriented chat applications are offering the option to retract a message through unsending or deletions. Sending a message via SMS, along, therefore sends it to a super great technological grave two decades.
With RCS, SMS, having come along in the nick of time, stands a chance to grow to greater glory by enabling the deletion of messages in the future between iPhone and Android users. Google’s Messages app is the only other app from Google that also supports RCS.
This new standard has introduced wonderful features to the otherwise boring SMS, such as read receipts, typing indicators, and improved media sharing. To add more spice, popular Google app researcher and tipster @AssembleDebug shared with Android Authority that the probably beta version 20250317_01_RC00 may allow remote deletion of texts.
Previously, if users deleted a message sent or received by you on Messages, it would be deleted only for you. It would mean the message you deleted was still available for viewing by other recipients or original senders, as the case might apply. The remote deletion would work somewhat like the ‘Delete for everyone’ feature in popular instant messaging apps like WhatsApp, allowing users to delete messages for all recipients.
This recent beta is already bringing in UI elements for such an awaited feature. The user interface for this forthcoming remote deletion capability in Messages is similar to those found in other chat applications, which is handy for those users who often toggle between different messaging platforms. When users pull the trigger to delete a text, they’ll be asked to choose either Delete for me or Delete for everyone.
Incidentally, like any other chat application, remote deletion can only be done within a specific period. After sending a message, you will have 15 minutes to change your mind regarding its deletion.
