WhatsApp will soon be releasing a new feature for its users which will enable them to send messages on the chat app that disappear after a week. The new feature is in works and is expected to reach WhatsApp users in the next few days.
The Facebook-owned chat app has explained the new feature in a new?FAQ page. On its official website, WhatsApp states, "You can send messages that disappear on WhatsApp by enabling disappearing messages. Once enabled, new messages sent in the individual or group chat will disappear after seven days.¡±
As mentioned by?WhatsApp, the new disappearing messages feature will allow users to send text as well as multimedia messages that will vanish after seven days. The feature can be turned on or off by the users for private chats but can only be?triggered by admins for a group chat.
In case the recipient is not able to open WhatsApp for the set seven days, the message will disappear in the chat but a preview of it will still be seen in WhatsApp notifications on the smartphone.
WhatsApp also specifies that the disappearing message will not be deleted after the set time period if it is forwarded to a chat with disappearing message disabled. Such messages will also remain intact in case a user creates a WhatsApp backup till the time the messages are being shown. They will, however, disappear once the backup is restored.
Citing the above mentioned reasons, WhatsApp warns users that the disappearing messages should be used with caution and preferably only with contacts that a user trusts. These messages do not work like the ones on Snapchat and should not be treated in a similar manner.
This is also because the messages can easily be saved through snapshots or can be forwarded or saved to make them permanent on a device. Even the multimedia files shared through such disappearing messages can be saved on a device if the auto-download is switched on, making their short-lived nature go away.
WhatsApp also shares the steps on how to enable disappearing messages. This means that the company will roll out the new feature very soon.
WhatsApp also explains how to use the new feature once it is rolled out. Interested users can follow these steps to enable the feature on their app -?
-- Open the WhatsApp chat on your smartphone
-- Tap the contact's name to whom you want to send disappearing messages
-- Tap on ¡®Disappearing Messages¡¯ option, confirm by tapping Continue if prompted
-- Select On-Off as required.