- WhatsApp will soon give users the option to enable disappearing messages after 24 hours.
- Currently, the feature allows messages in a chat to disappear after 7 days.
- Since the feature is still in testing, it takes a while before it officially rolls out.
Over the past year or so, WhatsApp has received quite a few impressive features that almost put it on par with competitors such as Telegram and Signal. Recently, WhatsApp was reportedly testing chat history transfer between iOS and Android devices. A while back, the company added the disappearing messages feature that allowed users to set self-destruct messages after 7 days. Now, WABetainfo reports that WhatsApp will soon allow users to set disappearing messages after 24 hours. The same restrictions apply here, though. Once deleted, there will be no way for either party to access said messages.
As shown in the image above, WhatsApp has added a new option for how long you can keep a message. The 24 hours option will join the existing 7 days option. To enable disappearing messages, head to a personal chat and click on the Settings option. You will find the Disappearing Messages option there which is disabled by default. It’ll be interesting to see if WhatsApp lets users take a screenshot of any messages sent via the new disappearing messages feature.
Currently, the 24-hour WhatsApp Disappearing messages feature is under development and WABetaInfo says it will be available in a future update for iOS, Android, and Web/Desktop.
Separately, WhatsApp is also testing the ability to transfer chat history between iOS and Android devices, which has been a highly requested feature. Transferring chat histories between the two platforms is not officially available at the moment. You can do this through third-party apps though. Additionally, WhatsApp is also rumoured to introduce multi-device support, logout, Instagram Reels on WhatsApp, and many more features in 2021.
