Users receiving the messages can still copy the text and take screenshots within seven days.

HIGHLIGHTS

• WhatsApp Disappearing Messages feature rolls out this month
• Messages will disappear after seven days
• Users won’t have the choice to vary the duration

WhatsApp has officially announced that it’ll be introducing a replacement ‘Disappearing Messages’ feature through an update that rolls out globally this month. the small print of the new feature, however, are out since earlier in the week after an FAQ page created by WhatsApp was noticed. The long-anticipated ephemeral messaging feature pioneered by Snapchat was first spotted last month through a WhatsApp beta version. it’ll allow users to enable an option on individual and group chats that deletes new messages after seven days.

‘Disappearing Messages‘ has started rolling out from today, and can be available across Android, iOS, and Linux-based KaiOS devices, along with side WhatsApp Web and Desktop platforms, by the top of this month. WhatsApp had earlier in the week detailed the way to enable/ disable the new ‘Disappearing Messages’ feature on different devices and published FAQs on its usage on a support page.

The ‘Disappearing Messages’ feature on WhatsApp is additionally different from how it works on Telegram. While Telegram lets users decide the duration before the messages disappear during a chat, messages sent to a talk on WhatsApp will disappear after seven days. Snapchat, on the opposite hand, deletes Snaps after they have been opened, deletes unopened Snaps sent to a gaggle chat in 24 hours, and everyone other unopened Snaps in 30 days.

WhatsApp says that it’s starting with seven days because it looks like an appropriate window for its users to end a specific conversation while giving them the peace of mind that the conversations aren’t permanent. “We’re starting with 7 days because we expect it offers peace of mind that conversations aren’t permanent while remaining practical so you do not forget what you were chatting about. The shopping list or store address you received a couple of days ago are going to be there while you would like it, then disappear after you do not,” the corporate said during a statement.

The ‘Disappearing Messages’ feature has got to be enabled separately for every chat window — individual or group conversations — and may be accessed by clicking the name of the individual contact or the group on WhatsApp. When enabled, the new messages sent by a user will disappear for the chosen contacts after seven days. However, the preview of disappearing messages might display in notifications until WhatsApp is opened on the receiving devices. Disappearing messages that are forwarded to a replacement chat window, which has the choice turned off, won’t be removed either. And when a user replies to a disappearing message, the quoted text may additionally remain within the chat after seven days.

Users receiving the messages also can still copy the text and take screenshots of the messages within seven days. Disappearing messages also will land in user backups but are going to be deleted after the user restores messages from it. as long as there are some ways to retain chats shared through disappearing messages, it seems more like a choice to clear up conversations than a feature to share information that deletes automatically.

Apart from Snapchat, Telegram, and now WhatsApp, other messaging apps to possess similar functionality include Signal and also Facebook Messenger that now features a vanish mode.