WhatsApp has introduced a new feature for Lost Messages, which removes messages you have shared with specific people or groups after seven days.
Previous chats remain unchanged, but once the feature has been activated, it will apply to any messages sent from there onwards. Here’s how to set up and use disappearing messages on WhatsApp.
How does the disappearance of WhatsApp messages work?
Once the job is ready and the people to work with have been selected, any messages you exchange with that person or group will be automatically deleted by WhatsApp after seven days. However, there is something different to know.
If you move a message to another conversation, which has no feature of the missing disappearing messages, it will remain in that conversation after it disappears in the first conversation.
When replying to a message, a preview of the reply message may remain visible after the message has been deleted.
Lastly, keep in mind that the people who received your message can take screenshots, save the message, or forward it to others, all of which will continue as long as the first message is gone.
How to allow the disappearance of messages on WhatsApp
As this feature can be as dangerous as the standard setup, WhatsApp only works for users you choose individually. It can also be used by groups, but only by the controller.
To enable the disappearance of messages on Android and iOS, open WhatsApp and tap on the chat you want to use the function on.
At the top of the page, tap the name of the contact.
Tap on ‘Disappear Messages’, and on the next page select the ‘On’ option.
Now, when you return to the contact’s conversation, you will see a message that says you have opened the missing message feature and that any new messages sent to that conversation from now on will be automatically deleted after seven days.
How to disable the missing message feature on WhatsApp
If you decide that you prefer to keep all your communications, it is very easy to disable the missing message feature. Just follow the steps outlined above, but in this case select the ‘Shut down’ option instead.
You may be interested in reading our guide on how to recover deleted photos from WhatsApp.
