Editing or deleting a sent message

You can reschedule or delete a message in emu.chat only while it is still scheduled, that is, waiting to go out at a future time. Once a message has been sent, you cannot edit or delete it, and you cannot unsend a text that has already reached the recipient's phone. This article covers what you can change and the one important thing you cannot.

What you can and cannot change

A scheduled message has not been sent yet, so emu.chat can still change it. You can do two things to a scheduled message:

• Reschedule it to a different time.

• Delete it so it never sends.

As soon as a message leaves the scheduled state (it has been sent, delivered, or failed), these options disappear. At that point the message is a permanent part of the conversation record. See Why did my message fail? (message statuses explained) for what each status means.

Reschedule a scheduled message

To send a scheduled message at a different time:

1. Find the scheduled message in the conversation. It shows a clock icon and the time it is set to send.

2. Open its menu (the vertical ellipsis on the message) and choose Edit scheduled time.

3. Pick a new date and time in the future, then choose Update.

The message stays in the feed with its new send time.

Delete a scheduled message

Deleting a scheduled message stops it from ever sending and removes it from the conversation:

1. Open the scheduled message's menu (the vertical ellipsis) and choose Delete.

2. Confirm when prompted. Deleting a scheduled message cannot be undone.

You cannot unsend a sent message

Editing and deleting only ever affect a scheduled message inside emu.chat. They do not reach the recipient. Once a text has been sent to the carrier and delivered to the recipient's phone, it is on their device and cannot be recalled, edited, or deleted. There is no unsend.

Warning: Always check a message before it sends. If you need a moment to review, schedule it for a few minutes ahead so you can still reschedule or delete it. Once it is sent, it cannot be taken back.

Deleting a whole conversation

You cannot remove an individual sent message, but a workspace Administrator can delete an entire conversation. This removes the conversation and all of its messages from emu.chat for everyone in the workspace. When you delete a conversation, emu.chat warns that all messages will be permanently deleted, so use it with care. This only clears the record in emu.chat; it does not delete the texts already on the recipient's phone.

Who can reschedule or delete a scheduled message

To reschedule or delete a scheduled message, you must be a member of that message's inbox. A workspace Administrator can manage any scheduled message on an inbox that belongs to their organisation, and is the only role that can delete a whole conversation. For more on access, see User roles and permissions.

To set up scheduled messages in the first place, see Sending messages.