WhatsApp disappearing messages may soon get a really long time limit
TL; DR
- WhatsApp is testing a three-month time limit for messages to disappear.
- If you enable it, messages will only disappear after 90 days.
The disappearing messages from WhatsApp could soon get a really long deadline that nullifies the privacy-centric purpose of the feature. According to WhatsApp detectives at WABetaInfo, the messaging app is testing a new 90-day message disappearance option.
The new 90-day limit was discovered in the latest WhatsApp beta for Android with version number 2.21.9.6. When you turn it on, messages don’t go away for a whopping three months. This is more or less like archiving the messages for automatic deletion after three months.
We previously reported that WhatsApp is also testing a 24-hour message disappearance option. This shorter time limit is still not available on WhatsApp. Currently, disappearing messages cannot self-destruct for seven days.
Related: The best alternative messaging apps to WhatsApp
Rather than further shortening the time limit for messages to disappear, WhatsApp’s plan to extend it to 90 days seems like a step in the wrong direction. Especially since the company first touted the feature as something that would “make the conversation easier and more private”.
WhatsApp’s original goal was to “give users the peace of mind that conversations are not permanent”. With a 90 day limit, it seems that users can not only keep conversations, but forget about them in due course.
Nonetheless, the service has at least a “view once” option for photos and videos. But even that isn’t completely foolproof, as it doesn’t prevent recipients from taking screenshots or saving the media elsewhere, as does message disappearing.
