Feature request: Edit sent messages #2545
Comments
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I saw this in #2343 when I came looking to make the request. I didn't find it broken out anywhere yet. Consider this my +1. |
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I would phrase this feature-request as "the ability to send-an-alteration-request about a message I have previously sent out" ... because, when I click 'reply' in signalapp it is guaranteed that I will be quoted-reply-ing to a particular message that I just clicked ... whereas, when I click the hypothetical 'edit'-menu-item on a particular message there IS NO GUARANTEE that in fact the previously-sent message will actually be edited on all remote devices (i.e. those that previously received the original content). Thus, instead of 'edit' something more like 'send a correction' or maybe the more vague 'send updated content' would be more accurate? Cf:
See also the carefully-chosen naming used for the 'disappearing messages' feature, as opposed to the 'we guarantee your messages will self-destruct securely' hypothetical version of that feature. If there is a setting that allows me to keep my chat-history tidy aka 'disappearing messages' ... should there not be a feature that allows me to tidy up the chat-history of my correspondents aka the 'send updated content' feature-request? It is annoying to have to say "s/John/Jane/" in a dedicated message every time I goof up sending something out with incorrect info, or "s/Joohn/John/" for an embarrassing typo, or similar problems. It is especially annoying when I get confused by the churning UI/UX and inadvertently send a romantic message to my 99-member business-groupchat... that I intended to send my spouse in a different 1-to-1 conversation entirely! |
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Just my 2 cents: I think editing/deleting messages is a bad idea. I think chat history should be immutable, as a courtesy for the parties involved. I like being able to look back and reference something said, and being sure of the accuracy. This is my preference for personal messages; I'd be interested to see if anyone else feels the same way. As an aside, related to the 99-member business-groupchat, my anecdote happened on slack: some spicy messages were exchanged between two coworkers in a public channel in our workspace that were subsequently deleted, but contributed to the reason one of the employees left the company. It would be useful to be able to see that record without having to request a data export from slack, as a reference going forward. As for accidental messages, I'd say that I am always careful, and always review a message I've typed for accuracy before I send it. |
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I'm strongly in favor of this feature request. I'm very used to the ability to edit messages in Telegram, Wire Messenger, Discord and Slack and use it all the time to correct typo's. I understand that there can not be any guarantee that the message is actually changed, and I can also see why people dislike the feature. Maybe it could be opt-out so that for people that do not like the idea would get a diff under a message rather then applying the diff to the message. Or maybe add a feature to see message history. The same goes for deleting messages - viable options could be to delete them completely, replace them with a 'This message is deleted' notification or apply a strike trough to the message so that it is still readable. Perhaps user configurable. This is one of the lacking features that keeps me from switching over to Signal completely. |
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If you can can delete a message (either automatically, or manually), being able to edit a message seems like a natural capability to have. For those looking for an immutable chat history - I would suggest this is NOT the app for your needs. |
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Folks, I suggest further discussion about the ability to edit-or-delete sent messages, be moved from github over to the thread here == https://community.signalusers.org/t/edit-or-delete-messages-after-theyre-sent/975 ...you can login there at signalUsers with your github credentials, if you like. I'd rather this github issue 2545 not get locked-to-contributors, in case somebody writes a pull-request to solve the problem :-) But for commentary ABOUT the feature-request, and design suggestions, and such things: that stuff is meant to happen purely within the signalUsers forum -- github issue-tracker is supposed to be reserved for bugfixes only, plus any of the rare feature-requests that the github devs see as needing to remain "open" in their issue-lists and milestones and whatnot. This one has been left open, which some might interpret as a good omen about eventually getting done. So, I'd rather not see it closed prior to that truly happening. People that are in favor of implementation can use the github reaction-emoji to add +1 to the top-post here, people against can add -1 reactions the same way. (Login to github and click the smiley-dropdown-menu on the top right of the posting.) That is better than actually commenting, since actually commenting emails all 273 repo watchers of Signal-Desktop... only some of whom care about this feature-request, whereas most of them care deeply about code-pushes and bug-reports... and we don't want to scare them off, please, with excess signalUsers-type discussion-traffic here in github |
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Thanks @five-c-d. I was considering locking to stem the trickle of debate. :0) |
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Any news on this? I'm also very interested in this feature, it's annoying to be unable to correct typos. It should, however, have a 30 minute time limit (for example), so you can't edit very old messages. |
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If immutable history is something the code owners are caring about - why not allow to edit with keeping editing history then? This would allow to fix typos, but still have a track of whatever's been sent. This history might even be searchable, or expandable into separate messages, etc. |
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that's retarded plain and simple |
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I think this issue needs to be raised on https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Server . I am for editable messages with viewable history. |
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I wanted to provide an update here. Though we don't support editing of messages, we do support "delete for everyone", allowing you to delete a message for all of a conversation's participants. See this support article to learn more about this. Again—this isn't an "edit messages" feature, but I hope this helps. |
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Any news on that? I think the thumbs up on the original message clearly show that people like this idea. |
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This is the only thing stopping me from switching to Signal as well, Telegram has the ability to edit messages and fix typos, grammar and add forgotten words etc..
Deleting a message works if you've just sent the message you're deleting, but if you've sent a few messages (i.e. a thread) or sent a really long message it becomes a lot more inconvenient to have to delete the whole thread or the long message just to do the fixes. What is the reason for not adding this feature? Is it purely because of difficulty/code or is there some decision amongst the maintainers to never support this? |
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Editing is something that could be enabled for only a minute or so after sending. That would eliminate spelling mistakes or sending too early, but also preserve the history. |
You can have Audit history for Edit message if people feel strongly about Messages being immutable. Personally, I make a lot of typos and would like to edit my text to correct spellings and grammar. |
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Another equivalent ticket for Signal-Android: signalapp/Signal-Android#10190 |
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+1 It's the last feature now that tagging has been added stopping a migration from Telegram. The challenge most people have is this is something they've become accustomed to in most other (non-FB) chat services, and it's weird not having it. |
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Yes please. +1 |
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Yes, please. On mobile as well. |
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This needed badly. At least on a per-group basis. Typos somethimes destroy the whole meaning of a comment. |
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This is one of the major features lacking from Signal - it is very useful for many of us. Also on Telegram editing is only possible for a certain timeframe - this could be done as well in Signal (if even just 15 minutes!) and a edit history should be included as well to help mitigate confusion. |
For integrity, one could handle it like Telegram and display "edited" and a timestamp, so that everyone involved knows that the content of the message has changed. Edit (heh! :-) ): Or even provide edit history and save all steps in between. |
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Yes please: +1 |
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Any update on this? I would say the github style is quite nice to do, if it is a storage space you could even limit it to the original and the last version? But this is one of the key features for me not to use Signal as main messenger. I am just a person who types and after sending sees all the typos and wants to fix them ;) |
Lacking an edit message feature is why I use Discord over Signal. I came to this issue to see if there were any plans for this feature, but alas. |
scottnonnenberg-signal
changed the title
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Hello, humble suggestion here I understand the immutability issue so, to edit a previously sent message, what if a new one is sent and simply identified as the "correction" of a previously received message (i don't know how they can be identified) in the metadata. Now the client app knows that's an edit so it will not display it as a new message but instead visually replaces the content of the mentioned message on the client side. This would be a graphic tweak only and wouldn't change the actual process i guess ? Cheers |
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I agree that this feature is fundamental in a modern messaging app, and I'd like to add that at the moment it's very frustrating also when it comes to Note to Self. I mean, if Note to Self is really meant as a way to take notes, it has to be possible to edit the notes. |
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I was just searching for how to edit sent messages and saw this feature request from 2018. I also think that this is an important feature for many of us and the possibility to edit a message shortly after it's being sent wouldn't affect an immutable history more than a delete message feature does. The best way would be probably an option to set the time for how long you can fix your messages per group. |
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In front of this overwhelming request from public users, devs should really take this REQUEST in account more seriously. |
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In my opinion, the prohibition of deletions or edits is the task of a group administrator. Not the job of the platform. Maybe a consent feature for privileges like editing/deletion in private chats could be an innovative feature for signal. |
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First of all : thanks for your work ! Please do not think it wrong, we don't want a Blockchain but a Chat App designed for users... The mass spoke : Editing is a must have feature, that's a fact. I understand your point, "what is said on Signal is written on the rock". "- Sorry, let me rephrase it" If you absolutly want to keep that aspect of Signal, yes you'll need to keep track on changes but I think that well documented history about software and user experience tells us that User eXperience first is a good design pattern... I can see that this 2018 feature request is not planned yet. In my opinion, that's nonsense and a strategic error... Regards, ps : Sorry I had to edit my message... 👯 |
Well, in that case, Signal can only be used as a recreational app. One way to solve this would be by allowing users to update a message for a certain time, after which it would be impossible to do so. |
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In most cases, editing messages is used to correct typos. Even limiting the editing possibilities to a few Minutes would be very helpful. This would also reduce the problem of 'spicy messages' being deleted. |
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When receiving a reply days after sending a message, I may re-read the conversation to remind myself of it, find typos, and fix those at that moment. A time limitation would prevent me from doing that, and I'd rather continue not to be able to edit messages at all, than repeatedly feeling such timeout frustration. Moreover, preventing abuse shouldn't be Signal's goal, the events occuring between people are their responsibilities, not Signal's. Anyways, an immutable edit history would cover most issues. |
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For me the most straightforward solution would be to allow edits until someone else has reacted to that message. Editing messages is standard for so many chat apps. If it works there, why is it such a pain point for Signal? |
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As far as I can see, this github issue here is closed. I think the official discussion on the feature moved here: https://community.signalusers.org/t/edit-sent-messages/975/462 |
This totally ignores what I just said. |
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Honestly, the best solution to this is having an option for this. Same with delete. Forget timeouts, consent is better (consent with timeout options even better!) and resolves the polarizing disagreements. This also resolves issues with groups because trust changes with scale. It's also important to recognize that editing and deleting offer real world practical security, which should trump any notion of immutable history for record tracking. As Moxie famously said, "the ecosystem is moving" and that this applies to threat models. Fwiw, it does look like Signal added an edit option for beta, that includes the history. But this does not have consent option around usage nor history tracking. I'm happy to see it, but I think it can be implemented better (albeit added complexity, but can be done user side). |
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Thank you soooo much for implementing it! It's working great :) and having access to the edit history is also good. |
and others
Feature Request
I would like to edit or delete my messages after I send them.
Spec
Platform info
Signal version: 1.14.2
Operating System: MacOS 10.13.6
Linked device version: n/a
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