Snapchat’s appeal comes partially from the ephemeral, self-deleting messages and Stories — and now the social media network has a way to delete that message you regret sending yourself. On Monday, June 11, Snapchat launched a Clear Chats feature that will delete messages, even the ones that haven’t been read yet. The Snapchat update comes as the parent company also expands the previously exclusive Spectacles 2.0 sales, including new availability on Amazon.
Clear Chats works for both group messages and one-on-one conversations. Because the tool works to delete unread messages, Clear Chats is similar to an unsend button, as long as the recipient hasn’t actually opened the message yet. Users in the chat room will be notified that a message was deleted, however.
To delete a message, inside the chat, tap and hold until the pop-up menu appears. A delete option appears at the end of that list. After tapping the option, another pop-up will ask to confirm while also reminding you that everyone will still be able to see that you deleted a message.
Snapchat shows the tool being used to delete a movie spoiler, but the reasons why your finger may hover over that delete button are endless, from typos and autocorrect spoofs to regretting ever sending the message in the first place.
The Clear Chats option will roll out over the next few weeks and, like most of Snapchat, it’s a feature hidden by gesture controls. The feature is the first tool that allows users to delete sent messages — previous tools only cleared messages off your app but not the recipient’s, though there were some workarounds including the drastic measure of actually deleting your account to get rid of that message.
While Snap Inc.’s native app gets a delete feature, the company’s camera glasses gets a new retail home. Snap Inc. recently began selling the second-generation Spectacles on Amazon. Previously, the Spectacles wearable was only available from the Snapchat website. The first generation had to go through vending machines before online availability, which gives the upgraded and now waterproof shades wider availability faster than the original pair.
The second generation of Spectacles is available on Amazon for about $150
