WhatsApp officially launches the option for hidden messages



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The WhatsApp platform is introducing the option of Disappearing Messages this month, so the feature allows users of the Facebook-owned messaging platform to automatically delete messages in chat conversations after seven days.

Any user in a one-on-one chat can turn the feature on or off, while only group admins can turn the feature on or off in a group chat.

A spokesperson for WhatsApp said: We start with a 7 day period; Because we believe it provides peace of mind; Because conversations aren’t permanent, they remain a process so you don’t forget what you were talking about.

He added: The shopping list or store address you received a few days ago will be there when you need it and then it will be gone when you no longer need it.

And you have to enable the disappearance of messages by group or by contact, and once the feature is fully deployed, it will be available as a new option in the contact section for every friend of WhatsApp.

The setting will not delete old messages and will only affect new messages after you activate them on either side.

And WhatsApp says: It will start rolling out hidden messages to all users this month, so that conversations through the app are as close to personal chats as possible.

She added: The period has been set at seven days; Because it’s short enough to make sure your conversations aren’t permanent, while still giving you plenty of time to revert to your last conversations.

The WhatsApp team had been testing the hidden messaging feature since at least October 2019, and it was available at the time for group messaging only, but the end product works for both group and individual chats.

The feature works with media files, allowing users to share hidden images, videos and gif files through an email program.

And when you reply to a hidden message, the quoted text can remain in the chat after seven days, allowing users to see the content of the message even after it leaves.

If these messages are forwarded to a conversation in which the Hidden Message setting is disabled, the message will not disappear after seven days.

If the user creates a backup before the message disappears, the removable message will be included in the backup copy and will be deleted after the user restores the backup.

While the feature is undoubtedly a useful addition to the messaging platform, WhatsApp does not add basic security features to prevent users from saving these messages before deleting them from the chat.

The company specifies that recipients will be able to save and forward downgradable messages, and take a screenshot, and the sender will not be notified.

Media files that use the feature are removed from chat, but remain on the recipient’s device, if automatic download is enabled.

The sender will not be alerted if the recipient saved or uploaded the media, or if they took a screenshot before it vanished.

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