Social media platform WhatsApp has announced the introduction of disappearing voice messages.
In a statement on Thursday, December 7, WhatsApp announced the rollout of this new feature which will add to its privacy layer.
“We introduced View Once for photos and videos back in 2021 to add another layer of privacy to your messages. Today, we’re excited to announce you can now send a voice message that will disappear once listened to,” read the statement in parts.
Further, the platform explained that users can now share sensitive information over voice message with added peace of mind.
“For consistency with View Once photos and videos, View Once voice messages are clearly marked with the “one-time” icon and can only be played one time,” said the platform.
Also, the platform said the View Once voice messages are rolling out globally over the coming days.
“You can send photos, voice messages, and videos that disappear from a chat after the recipient has opened them once,” read the statement.
Additionally, the social media platform said disappearing messages is an optional feature you can turn on for more privacy.
“You can set messages to disappear 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days after they’re sent unless that message is kept. The duration you choose only affects new messages in the chat, not messages you’ve already sent or received,” added the platform.
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How to use WhatsApp disappearing messages feature
You can choose to turn disappearing messages on for all chats or select specific chats.
In individual chats, either you or the person you’re messaging can turn disappearing messages on or off.
In addition, anyone can turn disappearing messages on or off in group chats by default.
However, group admins can change group settings to allow only admins to do this.
“You can set disappearing messages as default for new individual chats by tapping Settings > Privacy > Default message timer and selecting a duration,” explained WhatsApp.
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Notably, you can set messages to disappear after 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days.
However, if you don’t open WhatsApp within the time, you set messages to disappear, the message will disappear from the chat.
If a disappearing message is forwarded to a chat with disappearing messages off, the message won’t disappear in the forwarded chat.
“When you reply to a message on WhatsApp, the original message is quoted in your response. If you have disappearing messages turned on, the quoted message might still be visible in the chat after the duration limit has passed,” stated WhatsApp.
Also, if a user creates a backup before a message disappears, the disappearing message will be included in the backup.
Nevertheless, disappearing messages will be deleted when a user restores from a backup.
Disappearing messages aren’t available in certain countries for payment or order-related messages. You can still delete these messages from your own chat history individually.
Media in disappearing messages
By default, any media you download in WhatsApp will be automatically saved to your photos.
If disappearing messages are turned on, media sent in a chat will disappear.
