WhatsApp has been known to take its own time before rolling out a new feature. And the WhatsApp disappearing messages feature, which has been under testing for over a year, has now been detailed in a FAQ.
Back in July, we have reported that the disappearing or expiring messages feature was under development. We learned that it would allow users to send messages that would expire after a pre-defined time on WhatsApp.
This WhatsApp disappearing messages feature was spotted in version 2.20.197.4 beta. There were some UI changes and a universal seven-day expiration timer for messages.
Besides, last month it came to notice that this WhatsApp disappearing feature would also work with media files as well. Meaning that photos, videos, documents, etc. sent over can also be made to disappear after a certain period of time.
And now, as per a recent development, WhatsApp has officially shared some information about its disappearing messages feature on the FAQ section of its website.
The FAQ section reveals that the new WhatsApp disappearing messages feature would be arriving ‘very soon’ on the platform. This would allow users to send messages that disappear after seven days.
However, in order to use this feature, users will have to enable it from Settings. And once it is enabled, new messages will disappear from individual chat or groups after seven days.
WhatsApp disappearing messages feature would not affect previously sent or received messages
Moreover, the WhatsApp disappearing messages feature would not affect any of the previously sent or received messages on individual chat or groups.
Additionally, if the user does not open WhatsApp for seven days, then also the message will disappear. But the message preview will be shown in the notification until the app is opened.
There is a catch here. The disappearing messages can be read if you reply to that particular message. The content of the message will show up above the reply. Thereby allowing the users to read the disappeared message even after seven days.
Another clarity that WhatsApp provided about this new feature is that if the disappearing message is forwarded to a chat that has this feature turned off, the message would not expire even after seven days.
And finally, if the user creates a backup before the message disappears, it will be included in the backup. However, restoring the backup will delete the message.
One important thing that WhatsApp noted separately is that users should use this disappearing messages feature only with trusted individuals.
Because it is possible for someone to take a screenshot, copy and save the content, take a photo of the disappearing message before it disappears. And users will not be alerted for the same.
Along with the detailed FAQ on disappearing messages, WhatsApp also mentioned an in-depth tutorial on enabling/disabling disappearing messages on Android, iOS, KaiOS, Web, and Desktop.