Meta-owned instant messaging app WhatsApp has a disappearing messages feature where messages on the platform disappear automatically after seven days.
WhatsApp is now adding a new functionality to its disappearing messages feature, which will allow users to set messages to be automatically deleted after a set period of time. WhatsApp has said that users will now have the option of turning on disappearing messages automatically for all their new chats.
WhatsApp is also giving users more options for how long before a message is deleted. The feature was first launched in November last year, and only had the option of having messages disappear after seven days. Now, however, there will also be the option of deleting messages just after 24 hours or 90 days.
The company says that turning on disappearing messages by default won’t affect existing chats. When users start a new chat, they will get a prompt saying disappearing messages feature is on, alongside a note that says it is on by default.
There is also the option of turning off disappearing messages for each individual chat. Although the new default setting doesn’t affect group chats, WhatsApp says it has added a new option when creating groups that will let admins enable disappearing messages.
