WhatsApp is working on a feature that allows you to send timed messages that self-destruct. How the system works
WhatsApp is working on a new feature that allows you to send timed messages that self-destruct. The news comes directly from WABetaInfo, Twitter channel always very informed about the news concerning the messaging application. On WhatsApp so far you can only publish states that self-delete after 24 hours, but these are not the real messages that self-delete.
The new feature was first spotted in the Android beta version for WhatsApp, the number 2.19.275. It must be specified that for the moment “messages that self-delete” are still in the early stages of development, before seeing the feature on the official version of the app will have to wait a few months, in the hope that the tests give positive results. For example, the dark mode so much announced by WhatsApp has been in development for a couple of months now and still do not know the timing of release.
The guys at WABetaInfo have also published images that illustrate how to use the new system. Initially, it should be available only in groups, but it is not excluded that it may also arrive in “one-to-one” conversations. The new feature must be activated in the Settings of the group chat and the user can decide after how long the message should be deleted.
How timed messages work
In English the new feature is called “Disappearing Messages”. In Italian it could be translated as “Disappearing Messages”. The underlying theme remains the same: on WhatsApp come timed messages that automatically delete themselves from the chat.
How do you use the new feature (for the moment only available in group chats)? Very simple. You go into the group chat settings and press on the “Disappearing Messages” option. A window will open and you will have to make the switch from “Off” to “On”. At this point a new window will appear that will let you choose the time limit after which the message will be deleted. You have two options: 5 seconds or 1 hour. Once the feature is activated, any message you send will be deleted from the chat depending on the time option you choose.
When messages arrive they self-destruct
As initially explained, the feature is still in an alpha stage and only available to some users enrolled in the beta tester program. So far, the new feature has been spotted in the beta version of WhatsApp for Android number 2.19.275. We do not know the official timing of release and even if it will arrive on iOS devices.
We can, however, say with some conviction that the new feature can also be used in chats “one to one” and by users who have an iPhone. If the tests are successful, the new feature could become available before the end of 2019.