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It’s virtually impossible to grasp just how much the world has changed since the advent of the internet, which has impacted the ways humans communicate and interact (or avoid interaction) more than any other advancement in history.
It’s amazing what we can now do with a simple press of a button, whether we’re talking about reconnecting with an old friend, having food delivered directly to your door, or ruining your entire life in an instant.
In recent years, we’ve seen plenty of people forget there are repercussions that stem from posting stupid shit on social media, and while there are certain precautions you can take to avoid embarrassing yourself, sometimes it’s easier said than done.
If you’ve never logged onto Facebook at 2 AM and typed out a message you regretted composing as soon as you sent it, you’re a better man than I’ll ever be. Until this week, there was no real recourse for drunkenly shooting your shot or calling out someone who wronged you in high school, but now we (kind of) have a solution.
According to CNBC, Facebook rolled out a new feature earlier this week that allows you to delete private messages after you’ve sent them and users will now be able to wield the supreme power that was previously only granted to Mark Zuckerberg himself.
Here’s how you can save yourself from yourself:
- Click on the conversation containing the message(s) you want to erase from existence
- Open Facebook Messenger on your phone or computer
- Press and hold on a message if on your phone or, if you’re using your computer, click the “…” button
- Select “Remove” next to the message.
- Select “Remove for everyone”
Boom! It’s like it never happened (unless the person you sent it to saw it already. If that’s the case, there’s a chance they have the receipts and you should prepare your metaphorical bunker for any potential fallout).
It’s worth noting you only have 10 minutes to delete messages once they’re sent so this probably won’t be too much help to people who wake up on a Saturday morning with more notifications than they anticipated.
At least it’s a start.