WhatsApp is constantly updated with new features. One of the most interesting are the expiring messages. Thanks to them, older posts disappear, which makes conversations clearer and reduces the size of backups. Do you want to know everything about self-deleting WhatsApp messages? Stay a little longer so we can tell you all about it.
How to Enable Self-Deleting WhatsApp Messages on Android
First we explain how you activate the temporary WhatsApp messages on your device can. To get started, go to a conversation and tap the contact’s name.
Open conversation settings
Find the option Disappearing messages and tap on it.
Options for deleting the message
tap Onto turn on temporary messages.
Activate the self-deleting messages
From now on, automatic message deletion will be enabled. All posts older than 7 days will be automatically deleted. Now what should you consider regarding this option?
WhatsApp’s self-deleting messages: how they work
There are some peculiarities of how expiring messages work that you should keep in mind.
- The expiry time cannot be adjusted. There is no way to set a shorter or longer deletion time than 7 days.
- Temporary messages are included in the backups. Yes, if you create a daily backup, all messages will still be saved. However, if at the time you retrieve this copy it has been more than 7 days since the message was sent, WhatsApp will restore it for backup and delete it immediately afterwards.
- This feature can be activated by either party. Even if you don’t want to turn on the self-deleting messages, you’ll have to live with it if the other contact says so.
- Self-deleting messages are also available for group chats. This option is enabled and works the same way in one-to-one and group calls.
- Expiring messages can be saved in a number of ways. Just because a message disappears from a chat doesn’t mean it couldn’t have been captured using other methods as well. For example, they can be forwarded to other conversations. It is also possible to capture the phone’s screen in a screenshot, or have a third party take a picture of the screen.
In short, self-deleting messages aim to better organize chats and avoid the accumulation of attachments and messages. In no case is this a real privacy measure as it is very easy to save the conversation information even with an activated self-erasing feature