WhatsApp May Get Snapchat-Like Disappearing Messages, For Sending Secret Updates With No Record

WhatsApp is known to bring along new features every now and then in its beta builds, showing us an advanced glimpse of an upcoming feature.

And now, another cool feature has been added to its arsenal, one which could allow you to send secret messages.

Reuters

According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp could soon be getting a feature that will allow messages to self-destruct or disappear after a certain period of time, just like on Snapchat. The feature is currently being tested on selected beta users on the app running on version 2.19.275 on Android.

While this might not be the first time Facebook-acquired WhatsApp is replicating features from Snapchat, the addition of disappearing messages could really come in handy. To the uninitiated, such messages will help people share things that they don't want lingering on the recipient's chat history till eternity.

Not just Snapchat, Telegram also allows its users to send self-destructive messages through its 'Secret Chats' feature. As per WABetaInfo, the feature is still in its early stages and major changes could happen with time. As of now, the app allows users to send text message that gets deleted in either five seconds or an hour.

WABetainfo

Oddly enough, the feature is only available in group chats. Group admins get the option to enable or disable disappearing messages in its chat. The feature could really come in handy on certain group chats where people just end up forwarding messages and videos one after another.

There is no clear information as to when this feature will truly go live, and from the looks of it, it seems like there is still a lot of time for that. Flexibility in timing of the message-deletion and the limitation of the feature only being on group chats make the feature feel far from perfect.

Also, until there is an official update by WhatsApp, we recommend you take this information with a pinch of salt.