Researchers have discovered that the WhatsApp “Delete for Everyone” feature that allows WhatsApp users to delete recently sent messages doesn’t wipe the message completely.
If you’ve ever sent – and soon regretted – sending a WhatsApp message to a person or group, you may have utilized the handy delete tool that wipes the message from the chat, providing you use it within 7 (or so) minutes from sending the message.
However, researchers have discovered that recipients could potentially still read those deleted WhatsApp messages, because of the inbuilt Android notification log.
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That log, that allows users to see notifications for a particular app without the need to go into the app itself, stores WhatsApp messages, even those that have been deleted. And while the log is a “hidden” feature in Android, there are plenty of ways to access it (or plenty of Apps that can access if for you.)
There are some limitations, however.
– The log only stores notifications for a handful of hours.
– The log only stores the first 100 characters of WhatsApp messages.
– The log is emptied every time the phone is switched off or restarted.
– And of course, your phone needs to be running Android, version 6 or above.
However, recipients aware of these restrictions can easily access WhatsApp messages that have been deleted by the sender.
Source: AndroidJefe – How to SEE a deleted WhatsApp message after 7 minutes