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Samsung's Answer to WhatsApp Lets You Take Back Messages
We've all done it. You hit send on a message and realize it's now on its way to exactly the wrong person. Or, you send the wrong message to the right person in a moment of temporary insanity. Usually, there's not much you can do except run damage control and try not to cringe every time you think about it. However, Samsung is hoping to save some people the embarrassment with a new feature for its ChatON service. No doubt it's also hoping to flesh out ChatON's feature set to attract users.
The new feature comes with an update that will bring Samsung's IM app to version 3.5. While services like Gmail employ a specified delivery delay to allow users to "undo" send, ChatON will actually allow you to recall a message, even if it has already been read by the recipient. It works sort of like a delete function. All you have to do is tap the message and hit 'Recall' on the pop up menu. The message content will then read, 'This message has been recalled' instead of your original text.
Other new features with ChatON 3.5 include the ability to share files up to 1 GB in size and enhanced translation features (Samsung has added Arabic, Turkish, Farsi, and Hindi). In a move similar to Google's Hangouts app on Android, users can also choose to integrate SMS and MMS message from the same contact with their ChatON room.
Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
@rebert123_74 Just because you've recalled the message doesn't mean there is no record of this. This seems much like Outlook's recall option for email (except that Outlook will ask your permission to accept the recall).
robert123, that is exactly what might happen. Personally, threatening to kill someone online gives you some 'reasonable deniability' since more than one person could be using a phone/computer.There have already been documented real-life cases of police having to 'back off' because they cannot be absolutely sure who sent X message at Y time because more than one person was in the house in question when the message was sent.
