Feature to make messages disappear automatically comes this month in WhatsApp

The feature to make messages disappear automatically comes in WhatsApp from this month. The messaging service has announced this. It is an update on the server side and not an update of the app, so that not everyone gets the function at the same time.

After WhatsApp put a FAQ page online earlier this week, it was already clear that this capability was coming, and users will now be able to find the feature in their app, WhatsApp says. According to the Facebook subsidiary, chats should therefore feel more like communication in the real world, where what you say also disappears by default.

Users can turn the feature on or off per chat; automatic removal is disabled by default. In group chats, only admins can turn on or off disappearing messages. It is not possible to set a time limit for this yourself, as is possible with many other chat apps. The messages will automatically disappear after seven days. If a recipient does not open the app for seven days, it is still possible to see the message in a notification.

The feature is available by clicking the contact’s name in a chat and disappearing messages will appear as an option in the list already there. It is an update on the server side and is therefore not tied to the update of the app that appeared this week.