WhatsApp is launching a feature that makes your in-app conversations a lot less permanent. The app's new disappearing message feature will make your messages vanish after seven days.

Conversations Don't Have to Last Forever

WhatsApp is giving you the option to make your messages disappear, which can help you cut down on storage space and make conversations more fleeting. The launch of a disappearing message feature makes sense, as WhatsApp just unveiled a change to make bulk deleting messages easier.

The Facebook-owned app announced vanishing messages in a post on the WhatsApp Blog, noting that it wants to "make conversations on WhatsApp feel as close to in-person as possible."

It also chose the seven-day cutoff period to provide "peace of mind that conversations aren't permanent, while remaining practical so you don't forget what you were chatting about."

You can turn on disappearing messages for specific chats, allowing you and your conversation partner's messages to self-destruct after seven days. And if you're in a group chat, the admin has control over whether the messages will disappear or not.

Once the feature is enabled, it won't wipe out messages that you previously sent; it will only affect new messages from that point on. It will also eliminate photos and videos, however, that media may still be saved on your phone if you have auto-download turned on.

And yes, disappearing messages will vanish even if you haven't read them. When the seven-day deadline passes, you won't be able to read the original message, but you still may see the preview in your WhatsApp notifications.

Keep in mind that while your messages will disappear, that still doesn't stop people from screenshotting or copying your message before the seven-day deadline. In other words, be careful with who you use the feature with.

How to Turn on Disappearing Messages in WhatsApp

It's easy to enable or disable disappearing messages in WhatsApp, and the process is the same for both Androids and iPhones. If you want to try out this feature, follow these steps:

  1. Open WhatsApp.
  2. Select your contact's name and hit Disappearing messages.
  3. Tap Continue > On.

If you ever want to disable the feature, you simply have to follow the same steps outlined above.

Do Vanishing Messages Defeat the Purpose of Texting?

WhatsApp's disappearing message feature will definitely make conversations feel like in-person chats, but it almost defeats the purpose of texting. There's no doubt that it will benefit people who want more privacy on the app, but some users might want to keep the ability to revisit old conversations.