what is disappearing messages on whatsapp

Secondly, once you turn on disappearing messages, the other participants in the chat will be notified that disappearing messages are on. It also won’t affect any messages saved to your device. That means your old chat record will still be there - and available to anyone with access to the conversation. The time limit only applies to new messages that you send in the chat after you’ve enabled the disappearing messages feature. On Android, you can find the same settings by tapping the three dots in the top-right corner of the chat.Ī couple of things to note. Select the time limit you want to put on your chats. Scroll down and tap Disappearing Messages.

On iOS, open the chat you want to set time limits on, and tap the recipients name at the top of the screen. There are different procedures for iOS and Android. For an existing chat, you can set disappearing messages through the chat setting. If you send a photo as “view once”, it won’t be saved to your camera roll either, and fewer messages and media items means a smaller back up for your account too.Īll chats can be set to expire after a set length of time, with options for 24 hours, seven days or 90 days. Using disappearing messages will lighten WhatsApp’s load on your device. Then there is the impact on your phone’s storage. While screenshots can still be taken - for now at least - having messages automatically clear out of your chat app will mean any message you may later regret will be consigned to the digital rubbish bin once the specified time period has passed.

Why use disappearing messages? There is that above-mentioned privacy factor. It’s a follow-on from WhatsApp’s introduction of disappearing messages last year, tapping into the desire for more privacy that platforms such as Snapchat have previously recognised. While much of the focus was on the “quiet exit” from a group chat, with only the admins notified when you leave instead of the wider group watching you flounce, there was another planned addition that is worth noting.Īt some point in the (hopefully) near future, WhatsApp will prevent users from screenshotting messages intended to be viewed once. WhatsApp is set to introduce new features that will give its users more control over their privacy.

What is disappearing messages on whatsapp