For those who do not know, the disappearing messages feature was introduced by WhatsApp back in November this year. Once you turn this feature on, it will automatically delete your chats after a set period of time. This feature was introduced to provide enhanced safety when using the platform. When the feature launched, users only had the option to make their chats disappear after seven days. However, starting today, WhatsApp users will have the option to select disappearing messages timer from 24 hours, 7 days, and 90 days. The 24 hours and 90 days options are two new additions. Already existing chats won’t be affected by the arrival of this new feature. Only when you start a new one-on-one chat, a notification will pop up reminding you that the disappearing messages feature is turned on.
A notification saying the disappearing messages feature is enabled by default will also be shown
Besides, the notification will also note that the feature is enabled by default, to make your contacts understand that it isn’t anything personal. You can decide if you wish to keep the disappearing messages feature turned on or off for individual chats. Moreover, this feature won’t affect group chats. The good thing is that WhatsApp has added a new feature that lets you turn on disappearing messages for groups. You will see this option when you are creating a new group. So, if you care about your privacy and want to keep your WhatsApp safe and secure, you can enable this feature on your phone. While people can still take screenshots of your conversations or image, or copy the content of the message to other platforms, it at least adds an extra step. Since the feature will be turned ON by default, you can tweak it as well. Open the WhatsApp chat on which you wish to set a disappearing messages timer. Then tap on the contact’s name and select the Disappearing messages option. Here, you can select from 24 hours, 7 days, 90 days, or off options. Once the appropriate time is selected, your messages shared with the contact will get deleted after the set time. As noted by Android Police, the feature is already rolling out to all platforms. If you haven’t received the update, then you should expect it to arrive for your device in the coming days.
