iOS 16's editing feature puts the 'mess' in messages
iPhone users rejoiced with the release of iOS 16's ability to unsend and edit messages. Apple promoted the features as helpful ways to correct typos or retract messages sent by accident, but some users are thinking more nefariously. Since iOS 16 came out earlier this month, the conversation has taken a turn towards the land of sin: lying, cheating, and gaslighting.
These undo send and edit message features just became — flawed as all humans are — new methods for being sneaky. With a few taps of a finger, people can edit or remove an illicit message as though their secret wrongdoings never existed. Here are some of the ways people are scheming:
If you unsend a message, it's like it never happened right?
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Tapping "undo send" just became a new tool in the gaslighter's repertoire.
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Seeing a disclaimer that a message has been sent, then deleted, will undoubtedly trigger some trust issues...
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...and for good reason, since this user wants to take their infidelity to the next level
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Speaking of which, using undo send isn't the best way to cheat. Apple users who haven't upgraded to iOS 16 can still see the deleted message.
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And if the recipient does have iOS 16, you only have two minutes to erase your crime or 15 minutes to...uh...edit your crime.
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Some are just happy to add to the chaos...
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...while others just want to go back to the good old days when a message went out into the world untouched.
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Cecily is a tech reporter at Mashable who covers AI, Apple, and emerging tech trends. Before getting her master's degree at Columbia Journalism School, she spent several years working with startups and social impact businesses for Unreasonable Group and B Lab. Before that, she co-founded a startup consulting business for emerging entrepreneurial hubs in South America, Europe, and Asia. You can find her on X at @cecily_mauran.
