WhatsApp’s two biggest upcoming features Dark Mode, self-destructing messaging explained

WhatsApp is currently working on two exciting features for the app - self-destructing messages and dark mode. Here’s how the two features will work on WhatsApp.

WhatsApp new features coming soon. (Pixabay)

WhatsApp has been abuzz with two new features it's currently working on. WhatsApp users could soon get self-destructing messages and dark mode. These features are currently in development on WhatsApp beta.

WhatsApp is pretty late with new features as self-destructing messages and dark mode is already available on a number of apps. Popular messaging apps like Telegram and Signal already offer self-destructing messages. As for dark mode, this UI feature has been around on apps like Twitter and YouTube for months now. Instagram also just enabled dark mode on its app.

Here, we'll talk about how self-destructing messages and dark mode will work on WhatsApp.

Self-destructing messages

This feature will enable messages to automatically disappear from chats after a set interval of time. Currently available for group chats, WhatsApp users can choose messages to disappear after 5 seconds, 1 hour, 1 day, 7 days or 30 days. Once this is enabled all messages in that will self-destruct after the scheduled time. Unlike 'Delete for Everyone', this feature will not leave any trace of messages deleted in the chat.

WhatsApp dark mode. (WABetaInfo)

WhatsApp dark mode. (WABetaInfo)

Dark mode

News about WhatsApp dark mode has been doing rounds since last year. What started as a rumour eventually showed up in some beta updates of WhatsApp. A new update now shows WhatsApp has made more developments on dark mode. As spotted by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp dark mode shows a 'blue night' colour background. Text colour is however still not optimised for dark mode on WhatsApp.

WhatsApp will give users the choice to switch from light theme to dark theme. Users can also choose system default which will automatically change according to the phone's dark theme or light theme.