WhatsApp is the most popular cross-platform messaging app with features that make communication around the globe a seamless experience. From instant messaging to video and voice calling, WhatsApp connects millions of people around the world. Despite the abundant features in the app, it lacks some popular features its chief rivals offer.
WhatsApp is soon bringing a cool new feature that has made Snapchat so popular among its rivals. According to WABetaInfo, a popular source for learning about WhatsApp's beta features, the Facebook-owned messaging application is testing ephemeral messages or as it calls it "Disappearing Messages."
Snapchat has long offered ephemeral messaging, a feature that has set it apart from rivals, luring several users to its app. With WhatsApp offering the feature in the near future, users will have little reasons to go to alternative messaging apps.
WhatsApp hasn't rolled out the feature to the public yet, as it was spotted in Android 2.19.275 beta version. The new WhatsApp feature also appears to be working for group chats at the moment, but there's a good chance it will be added to the private chat settings as well. The report further claims the feature is in the alpha stage of development and there's no exact release date for the masses.
As per the screenshots shared by WABetaInfo, users can set the time of expiry for the messages sent in group chats from the Group Settings menu. Currently, there are only two options, 5 seconds and 1 hour, after which the message will disappear from the chat window of all the participants in the group.
The idea behind ephemeral messages is to keep chats private. It adds another layer of security to users' messages on top of the end-to-end encryption for all chats and calls in WhatsApp. Other than Snapchat, ephemeral messaging has made its way to Telegram and Messenger and it's high time WhatsApp joined the bandwagon as well.
The testing of Disappearing Messages in WhatsApp comes at a time when users are eagerly waiting for Dark Mode. While the dark theme setting was spotted in beta long ago, there's no sign of its arrival. WhatsApp has since rolled out several other features, but the mystery around Dark Mode continues to remain unsolved.
