WhatsApp offers more options with ephemeral messages

The WhatsApp teams have decided to offer more options with ephemeral messages. Thanks to this new update, users will, for example, be able to activate ephemeral messages by default on all their conversations. New disappearance times are also available.

While the FBI recently made WhatsApp one of the most data-hungry apps, instant messaging teams have just announced more options for ephemeral messages. Indeed, since August 2021, the app offers ephemeral messages in the style of Snapchat.

Via a blog post on the official WhatsApp website, the developers detail the various changes made. First, users now have the option activate by default ephemeral messages on all discussions, including group chats. The messages will disappear after the chosen delay. WhatsApp however recalls that this feature is optional and that it does not modify or delete any of your existing conversations.

“If you choose to turn on ephemeral messages by default, we’ll display a message in your chats to let people you chat with. We thus indicate that you have chosen this way of communicating with all your WhatsApp contacts. Of course, if you want to keep messages from a particular conversation, you can easily change your choice ”, explain the app teams.

To read also: WhatsApp – how to change your phone number?

WhatsApp adds additional disappearance times

Furthermore, WhatsApp now incorporates new disappearance times. In addition to the 7-day period introduced since the launch of the feature, users will now be able to opt for a period of 24 hours or 90 days. In other words, we will have to wait more to obtain even shorter deadlines.

“We are convinced that ephemeral messages and end-to-end encryption are two essential features of a private messaging service today, and bring us one step closer to the experience of an in-person conversation ”, assure the developers on the official blog. As a reminder, it will soon be possible to delete messages without time limit. Until then, only the most recent messages could be deleted by the user.