WhatsApp has recently added a couple of innovative features for a better user experience. Disappearing Message, Always Mute option for group and individual chats, Storage management tool, new wallpapers for each contact and group, WhatsApp Payment and Shopping are the latest new features of the most popular instant messaging app.
The new disappearing message feature is available for all WhatsApp users across the world. If you enable it, any message sent by you will automatically disappear after seven days. It supports both individual chat and group chat, but for group chat, only admins have the right to control this feature.
Update [7-12-2021]: Now You can enable disappearing messages by default in WhatsApp. The new Default Message Timer feature lets users turn on disappearing messages for all contacts. No need to select individual and group chat. Also, users can select new time options for when messages vanish – 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days. You can enable this feature by going to WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy > and turn on Default message timer.
How to Send Disappearing Messages on WhatsApp?
- Update WhatsApp to the latest version and open it.
- Tap on the profile photo and tap on the contact info
- Scroll down and tap on the Disappearing Messages option to turn on the feature.
- Once you enable it, any message sent to the chat will self-destruct after seven days.
WhatsApp’s Disappearing Messages has few shortcomings as well. For example, the disappeared message won’t go from unread notification preview. Also, the quoted text messages will not disappear from the chat. In the case of forwarded messages, it will be visible even if it has disappeared from the original chats. Also, the 7-day time limit seems to be little long. And, recipient can save the message elsewhere before disappearing.
Note: The post was first published in November 2020 and updated in December 2021 with the new disappearing message feature.
More Resources
- How to use WhatsApp’s Storage Management tool to free up space on your phone
- How to record WhatsApp video calls on Android
- 3 methods to restore WhatsApp chats on Android
- 3 methods to send WhatsApp message by hiding your online presence
