WhatsApp finally launches disappearing messages feature

WhatsApp's much-talked about feature, disappearing messages is now official. It will be available to all WhatsApp users within this month.

WhatsApp's disappearing messages. (WhatsApp)

WhatsApp on Thursday announced the launch of disappearing messages. This feature has been in testing since last year. As the name suggests, this feature will automatically delete messages from chats once the time limit reaches.

WhatsApp has set the time limit for disappearing messages to seven days. This means that messages sent will disappear from the chat after seven days since they were sent. Both users in a WhatsApp chat have the option enable/disable disappearing messages. For group chats, only the admin will have control over disappearing messages. The feature will take effect only once it's turned on, and older messages won't be affected by it. It also works not only for text but for media as well.

There are some things to note about disappearing messages which WhatsApp has listed out in its FAQ page. Chats that haven't been opened will still have the content of messages in the notification panel even after they disappear. Messages which are replied to in a chat will still remain even if the original text disappears.

Disappearing messages also don't apply to forwarded messages. For example, if a disappearing message is forwarded, it will still appear in the forwarded chat. WhatsApp also pointed out that disappearing messages will be backed up if it's done before the time limit. But the messages will disappear once the backup is restored.

WhatsApp's disappearing messages feature will be available to all users within this month. This feature comes shortly after WhatsApp launched its updated storage management tool.