WhatsApp finally starts rolling out disappearing messages feature, here’s how to turn it on and off

WhatsApp has finally announced the introduction of its ephemeral messaging feature, “Disappearing Messages”.

The feature, which other messenger apps like Signal and Telegram have had for long, lets chats expire and disappear after some time – 7 days.

WhatsApp is limiting the period for messages to disappear to 7 days, something that sets it apart from its competitors which allow users some more flexibility.

Disappearing messages can be used both in one-on-one individual chats and group chats. As we noted earlier, for the latter, admins have the exclusive rights to toggle the feature on and off. For individual chats, either party in the chat can turn the feature on and off.

According to WhatsApp, here’s how to turn disappearing messages on and off on Android:

Individual (either user)

1. Open the WhatsApp chat.
2. Tap the contact’s name.
3. Tap Disappearing messages.
   • If prompted, tap CONTINUE.
4. Select On.
5. If disabling the feature, follow steps 1, 2 and 3 and then in step 4, select Off.

https://youtu.be/svWF4SRpMHI

Group (admins only)

1. Open the WhatsApp group chat.
2. Tap the group name.
3. Tap Disappearing messages.
   • If prompted, tap CONTINUE.
4. Select On.
5. If disabling the feature, follow steps 1, 2 and 3 and then in step 4, select Off.

https://youtu.be/svWF4SRpMHI

The disappearing messages feature is currently rolling out and WhatsApp expects it to reach all active users by the end of the month. All that one needs to do is make sure that their app is updated and then keep on checking as the switch is server-side.