Now your whatsapp messages are going to disappear after every 7 days

Would you really want your WhatsApp conversations to live on your phones forever? WhatsApp now offers you the chance to have your chats “disappear” automatically, after every 7 days. This article covers all you need to know about whatsapp’s latest “disappearing message” update. We’ll understand what WhatsApp’s objective around this feature is, what you will benefit from it, and how to use it.

What’s the most used app on your phone this month? Except you’re in China or the USA, my guess is; Whatsapp! It appears to be impossible for one to spend an entire day without giving some time to Whatsapp, no matter how busy we are. Whatsapp a messaging service from Facebook that allows its users to send text messages, voice notes, audio/video files, documents, pictures, etc.

Whatsapp has introduced an update that will enable sent messages to disappear automatically. “When disappearing messages is turned on, new messages sent to a chat will disappear after 7 days, helping the conversation feel lighter and more private. In a one-to-one chat, either person can turn disappearing messages on or off. In groups, admins will have the control.” This is according to Whatsapp’s official blog.

What’s the objective of this new Update?

You may say to yourself; “I want to keep my messages forever, I want to hold on to memories of friends and families.” The truth is, you’ll never really need those messages forever. It’s important to let go of these messages after a while. Whatsapp’s goal is to make conversations feel as close to in-person as possible, which means these conversations shouldn’t have to stick around forever. After a set period, they should “disappear” by themselves.

How does the “disappearing messages” update help you?

According to Whatsapp, clearing your chats after a seven day period offers you a “peace of mind,” knowing that those messages won’t last forever. For me, this is a good thing. Even if you’re not Okay with the update, whatsapp gives you the chance to make a choice. You can make your choice, either by enabling the feature for your chats or not. Here’s a few sticky points about this update.

Sticky points about the “disappearing messages” update.

1. Even after you’ve enabled this setting, your the messages you had previously sent or received will not be affected.
2. In an individual chat, either user can turn disappearing messages on or off.
3. In a group chat, only admins can turn disappearing messages on or off.
4. If a user doesn’t open whatsapp 7 days after disappearing messages has been turned on for a particular chat, the messages of that conversation will disappear. However, the preview of the messages might still be displayed in notifications, until WhatApp is opened.
5. When disappearing messages is turned on for a converstion (chat), the messages of that chat are called “disappearing messages.” If a user replies to a disappearing message, the quoted text might remain in the chat for only 7 days.
   NB. When a user replies to a simple whatsapp message, the initial message becomes “quoted text.”
6. Remember the frequent WhatsApp backups? Disappearing messages are also included in a backup created by the user. Nevertheless, the disappearing messages will “disappear” after the backup is restored.
7. Use disappearing messages only with trusted individuals for the following reasons;
   – A user can take a screenshot of a disappearing message before it disappears.
   – Same user can copy and save content from a disappearing message before it disappears.
8. When disappearing messages is turned on for a chat, media files sent to that chat will disappear. However, these media files will not be removed from your your phone, if auto-download is still on.

Disappearing messages is already available in many countries. To get the feature, kindly update your whatsapp. Enabling the disappearing messages feature will likely follow the same process required “mute” a chat. To mute a chat, long hold on the chat, until is is “selected.” Tap on the microphone-like button at the top of the screen to mute the selected chat. See how to turn on other sensitive features on whatsapp here.

What do you think of this new update, is it really necessary? Let me know what you think in the comment section. Please share this article, and subscribe to this blog to get more interesting articles on mobile apps.