How to Enable the Disappearing Messages Feature on WhatsApp
WhatsApp allows you to delete messages that you don’t want to be remembered. Here’s how you can turn it on.
Because not all WhatsApp messages are vital, they shouldn’t be kept around indefinitely. You may delete unimportant or compromising messages on WhatsApp, just like you would in real life, so you can move on from your conversations once they’re finished.
WhatsApp has joined the likes of Signal in allowing you to delete messages that you no longer want to be a part of your life. The feature has a number of advantages, like cutting your digital trace, providing a sense of anonymity, and more.
How WhatsApp’s Disappearing Messages Feature Works
You can establish an option for each individual chat, whether it’s an individual or a group chat, to automatically erase messages seven days after they’ve been delivered, using this feature.
However, unlike some of its competitors, WhatsApp does not allow you to choose the length of time that messages are saved. Furthermore, the service will delete any photographs or videos submitted through the chat.
To use this function, make sure you have the most recent version of WhatsApp on your iOS or Android device. To get the latest version of your app, go to the App Store or Google Play and select Update.
How to Enable Disappearing Messages in Individual Chats
The procedure for enabling disappearing messages in your WhatsApp chats is outlined below.
1. Tap on the contact’s name at the top of the chat to enable the Disappearing Messages function for that contact after opening that contact.
2. Now pick Disappearing Messages by scrolling down.
3. When you enable the feature for the first time, you’ll get a pop-up notice explaining how it works. After you’ve finished reading it, click Continue. Off will be set as the current status.
4. Press On to enable the feature.
How to Enable Disappearing Messages in Group Chats
Follow the steps outlined below to enable disappearing messages within group chats.
1. Press on the contact’s name at the top of the chat to enable the Disappearing Messages function for that contact after opening that contact.
2. Now pick Disappearing Messages by scrolling down. Off will be set as the current status.
3. Tap On to enable the feature.
How to Disable Disappearing Messages in Individual and Group Chats
To turn off the Disappearing Messages feature in both individual and group chats, follow the same steps as you did to enable it, but in the penultimate step, hit Off instead of On.
The screenshots below demonstrate how to accomplish this.
When the Disappearing Messages Feature Won’t Work
Messages sent or received prior to the Disappearing Messages feature’s activation will not be affected. If you forward a vanishing message to someone else, it will not disappear from their conversation unless they have the functionality turned on as well.
If the recipient of a disappearing message responds to it directly by swiping right to quote it, the message may be accessible after the seven-day limit has passed.
A Word of Caution
Remember that the Disappearing Messages tool only removes messages and media (such as photographs and videos) from within the chat. It has no effect on the recipient’s forwarded messages or media.
While any messages and media you may have sent will be deleted from the chat, they will still exist wherever they were forwarded. Furthermore, if the receiver has downloaded the media you sent, it will remain in their gallery.
This function, like everything else in technology, has flaws. It’s possible that after you send something, you won’t be able to control how far it spreads. This is why you should only share information and media that you don’t mind being shared.
Not All Conversations Have to Last Forever
Your WhatsApp conversations will no longer have to go on indefinitely. The Disappearing Messages function gives you the assurance that anything you texted a week ago won’t be available for you to revisit if it’s no longer needed.