Lying about a WhatsApp message

[MurphysColeslaw]

If you sent a WhatsApp message which started off ‘Read this carefully, and to the end but then deleted it 8 hours later.
If the recipient then replied ‘I can’t read it if you’ve deleted it’ AIBU to presume they did actually read it and are lying?

Really impossible to tell because they may have read it before deleted or they may have read the first two lines on lock screen and then when the went to read it it was deleted hence their reply. For what its worth even with no read receipts and if someone went to airplane mode and read it to pretend they didnt you can go to the arrow and click info and it will tell you if it has actually been read or not. I mean no use now if the message is deleted but before deletion you can tell.

Basically, they might have read it, but they might not have read it.

I wouldn’t read it - I’d think it was a scam and they had been hacked - unless the Mission Impossible theme was playing. Then I would read it.

They may well have seen a preview?
I don’t have that on my WhatsApp.
I sent a nice message to someone, but they do have a habit of skim reading messages, so I wanted them to make sure they read it to the end, because that had the nicest bit. Hence starting my message please read carefully, and to the end.
However, some hours later I was a bit self conscious/embarrassed, so deleted it in the hope that they hadn’t read it.
When they replied and started their message ‘can’t read it if you delete it’
I thought oh fuck they have read it, and are trying to spare my blushes as well as theirs.
Normally if someone deletes a message that’s not what you would say?
So that’s it.
I’m neither hard work or a drama queen or whatever else I’ve been accused of being.
I’m a person who sent someone a nice message and got embarrassed.
Thanks to those who explained shit to me and thank God I’m not someone vulnerable, because some of the responses were quite unnecessary.

If someone sent me a message and the first line was instructing me how to read that message, I would not read the message.

FYI on my phone I can read entire whatsapp messages (preview) as long as there isn't some sort of attachment without creating the blue ticks. And yes a deleted message will appear as 'message deleted '

I'd have assumed they managed to read the preview lines before it deleted.

They could very well have read the whole message though. If they have read receipts turned off i'd probably assume they had read the whole message.

My watch shows me the first line of whatsapp messages when they come through. I would know someone had sent me a message saying read this carefully but if I wasnt near my phone before it was deleted I wouldnt have seen any more of the message.

I think if you’d said this in the first place you wouldn’t have had such a hard time from posters……..

I didn’t want to have to explain
it should have been stand alone, as one if the first couple of posters to reply did point out.

By assuming they did read it and told you "conveniently" that they hadn't before you deleted it, you're sabotaging whatever it was you intended to be the result of the "nice" but potentially embarrassing message. It's quite possible that whoever you sent this "nice message" to did not get a chance to read your message. So now, what are you going to do? How will you explain to them that you deleted the message before they could read it? Will you resend it (or a version of it)?

But it’s AIBU
Why give the be of the doubt if you can be obtuse or arsey

They'll have seen a preview. This is how 13yr olds behave btw.

What did you say back anyway? After she said "I can't read it you've deleted it'

No. They might have read the first line when it popped up, but never opened it. Or opened it and thought they'd come back to it later if it was long.

🍿

If a message like that came up when I was busy I'd assume that it was a message that needed time and concentration. So I'd stop reading after that first sentence and come back to it later. Particularly if I was at work.

Did you declare your undying love then change your mind? That is kinda awkward!

Something like that 😂🙄

Omg it so is! Imagine if they were about to respond- "i love you back" but then saw the message got deleted 😥

I'm also intrigued as to what you said after they said "I can't read it you've deleted it".

I said ‘Thank God’ 🥴

FYI android users, if you go to your phone settings > notifications > notification history, you can actually read deleted messages. When you delete them in WhatsApp, it doesn't delete from your whole phone :) just a little trick I wanted to share x

No. They may have seen the preview of the message pop up on either their screen or their car. Mine does this. I don’t see the whole message unless I select to. Which sometimes I don’t if I’m busy at that moment.

If I then tried to read the whole message later when I had time and it said deleted I think I would send a message like the one you mentioned saying how can I when you deleted it.