This WhatsApp feature is awesome! Make your chat disappear by default; here is how

With this WhatsApp feature, users can make their chats disappear by default.

WhatsApp Disappearing Messages! Know how to enable or disable disappearing messages. (Reuters)

People use WhatsApp mainly to stay in touch with their loved ones via messages, calls, images, among others. But did you know that now you can make your WhatsApp message disappear by default? Yes, WhatsApp users can do so via WhatsApp Disappearing Messages feature. It is an optional WhatsApp feature provided by the messaging application that you can turn on for more privacy. As per the information provided by the company, when you enable Disappearing Messages, you can set the chats to disappear for a 24-hour, 7-day, or 90-day period after they are sent.

However, it needs to be noted that the most recent selection only controls new messages in the chat. This setting will not affect messages you previously sent or received in the chat. Also, in an individual chat, either user can turn disappearing messages on or off. While in a group chat, any group participants can turn disappearing messages on or off. However, a group admin can change group settings to allow only admins to turn disappearing messages on or off.

If a user does not open WhatsApp in the 24-hour, 7-day, or 90-day period, the message will disappear from the chat. However, the preview of the message might still be displayed in notifications until WhatsApp is opened.

When you reply to a message, the initial message is quoted. If you reply to a disappearing message, the quoted text might remain in the chat after the duration you select. If a disappearing message is forwarded to a chat with disappearing messages off, the message will not disappear in the forwarded chat.

A value addition present in this WhatsApp feature is allows users to turn on disappearing messages by default for all new individual chats. Here is how:

How to enable disappearing messages on Android and iPhone:

1. Open the WhatsApp chat.

2. Tap the contact's name.

3. Tap Disappearing messages. If prompted, tap continue.

4. Select 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days.

How to Disable disappearing messages on Android and iPhone

You can disable disappearing messages any time. Once disabled, new messages sent in the chat will no longer disappear.

1. Open the WhatsApp chat.

2. Tap the contact's name.

3. Tap Disappearing messages. If prompted, tap CONTINUE.

4. Select Off.

Similarly if you want to enable or disable Disappearing Messages in a group then you will have to open the WhatsApp group chat who's messages you want to disappear.

You can also set up new WhatsApp chats to self-destruct by default. Check out the steps here:

1. Open your WhatsApp and click on the vertical three dots that is available at the top-right corner.

2. Choose 'Settings' from the pop-up that appears after clicking on the three dots.

3. You will then have to click on 'Account' and choose 'Privacy' to review your privacy settings.

4. Now under the 'Disappearing messages' you will find the option to set the 'Default message timer' for new chats.

It can be noted that the available disappearing messages timer options are 24 hours, 7 days, and 90 days. You will have to select the appropriate timer based on how often you would like WhatsApp messages to self-destruct in the conversation window.

Similarly, you can also set up self-destruct by default for new group chat. For this you will have to create a new group, pick participants and then you will also find the “Disappearing messages” option below the field to enter the group's name. Click it to set the duration after which you want the messages to self-destruct in the WhatsApp group.