IOS 16's Editing Feature Puts The 'mess' In Messages - Mashable

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Gift Lab The Mashable 101 Creator Hub Tech Apps & Software Artificial Intelligence Cybersecurity Cryptocurrency Mobile Smart Home Social Media Tech Industry Transportation All Tech Science Space Climate Change Environment All Science Life Family & Parenting Health & Wellness Sex, Dating & Relationships Sleep Careers Mental Health All Life Social Good Activism Gender LGBTQ Racial Justice Sustainability Politics All Social Good Entertainment Games Movies Podcasts TV Shows Watch Guides All Entertainment SHOP THE BEST Laptops Budget Laptops Dating Apps Sexting Apps Hookup Apps VPNs Robot Vaccuums Robot Vaccum & Mop Headphones Speakers Kindles Gift Guides Mashable Choice Mashable Selects All Sex, Dating & Relationships All Laptops All Headphones All Robot Vacuums All VPN All Shopping Games Product Reviews Adult Friend Finder Bumble Premium Tinder Platinum Kindle Paperwhite PS5 vs PS5 Slim All Reviews All Shopping Deals Newsletters VIDEOS Mashable Shows All Videos A new era of messaging has begun thanks to iOS 16 Credit: Mashable / RaShawn Dixon

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.

SEE ALSO: iOS 16 ruined my iPhone's once-perfect lock screen

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:

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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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Topics Apple iOS iPhone

Cecily Mauran Tech Reporter

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.

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