WhatsApp messages: Now you see them, now you don’t!

The WhatsApp message app, which is owned by Facebook, is used freely in all parts of the world except in China, where it has been officially   banned  since   September 2017.   By   some estimates, WhatsApp is used  worldwide by some 2 billion people, who send 100 billion messages every day.  One of the signature features of […]

The WhatsApp message app, which is owned by Facebook, is used freely in all parts of the world except in China, where it has been officially   banned  since   September 2017.   By   some estimates, WhatsApp is used  worldwide by some 2 billion people, who send 100 billion messages every day. 

One of the signature features of WhatsApp is   the   end-to-end   encryption, which has   kept   your conversations   and   other   contents   safe   from   the   prying   eyes   of others, including law enforcement.

Well, by the end of this month, the app will add a new feature that allows automatic deletion of your messages and graphical or video   contents seven days after they have been sent or received. This disappearing message feature is being added to WhatsApp to “help you cut down on your digital footprint.”  If you have something to hide, the feature is a great way to   de-clutter   your   devices   in general,  so   there’s   less   to   see   if someone were to look.

The feature will be rolled out globally by month end. WhatsApp in the common platforms – Android, iOS, Web, Desktop, and KaiOS – will support the new feature.Once the disappearing message feature has been fully rolled out, it will   be   available   as   a   new   option   in   the   Contact   section   in WhatsApp. The setting won’t wipe out older messages, and will only affect new messages once it’s enabled by either the sender or receiver.   You   can   turn   on   the   disappearing   feature   for   direct messages, but in groups it’s the administrator that has to enable or disable disappearing messages. To enable the disappearing message feature in WhatsApp follow this procedure: >Open WhatsApp chat>Tap the contact’s name >Tap Disappearing messages, and, when prompted >Tap CONTINUE >Select On. To disable disappearing messages: >Open WhatsApp chat >Tap the contact’s name >Tap Disappearing messages, and, when prompted >Tap CONTINUE >Select Off.

Facebook rationalizes the introduction  of  the   feature  as follows:“While it’s great to hold on to memories from friends and family, most of what we send doesn’t need to be everlasting. Our goal is to make   conversations   on   WhatsApp   feel   as   close   to   in-person   as possible, which means they shouldn’t have to stick around forever.”

Note that  unlike competing  tools, WhatsApp does  not yet allow granular options — an hour, a day, a month — for the time until messages disappear. For now, it’s hardcoded to seven days, even though Facebook Messenger, a sister platform to WhatsApp,  offers granular   controls   for   disappearing   messages   in   its   end-to-end encrypted Secret Conversation feature. Of course, disappearing messages is not new at all. Apps including Telegram, Signal, Wire and Snapchat already offer such an option. In fact an article appeared in this column in Daily Trust entitled “Snapchat,  the  ephemeral messaging app”  on 27  February  2017.

Facebook rationalizes its currently hard-coded seven-day policy as follows: “We’re starting with seven days because we think it offers peace   of   mind that   conversations aren’t   permanent, while

remaining practical so you don’t  forget  what  you were chatting about,” the company says in a blog post. “The shopping list or storeaddress you received a few days ago will be there while you needit, and then disappear after you don’t.”

There are several features of the new capability that you should beaware of. The seven-day limit will exist regardless  of whether a message gets read or   not, and  the   disappearing message  timing begins when it is sent or received.

“The way it’s currently designed is to give the sender confidence that after seven days their message is gone. The messages have no concept of being seen, for them to disappear,   so   they   will   disappear   regardless of read   status,” a spokesperson reportedly said. The new disappearing feature will not be automatically switched on in your phone. That is, you have to proactively change the settings required to turn the feature on. There are other features: After you have activated the new feature, if a message recipient doesn’t open WhatsApp in the seven day period, the message will disappear on them,   as   pointed out above,   though WhatsApp is  saying that a preview of   the message  might still  be  displayed in notifications until   WhatsApp is opened.

Furthermore, when  you   reply  to  a message, the   initial message is   quoted.  If  you  reply  to   a disappearing message,   the quoted text might remain in  the  chatafter seven days. Also, if a disappearing message is forwarded to a chat where the user has disappearing messages  off, the message won’t disappear in the forwarded chat, and if you create a backup before a message   disappears, the   disappearing message   will   be included in the   backup. Disappearing   messages will be   deleted when you restore from a backup!

Wired.com   wants   you   to   have   these   facts:     “On   Android, WhatsApp  defaults to automatically   save media to your  camera roll. That   setting will persist even   with disappearing   messages unless you manually change it, meaning that images and other files may be auto-deleted from the chat but will still be saved on yourphone. And even if you have WhatsApp’s auto save feature turned off, the people you chat with may not. ”The absence of granular controls in the new disappearing message feature of WhatsApp is going to be a drag that Facebook will have to address sooner than later.