WhatsApp is rightfully the most popular messenger in the world. Even if it has some drawbacks against the background of the same Telegram, it is simple, clear, fast, free and does not overload the user with unnecessary information. Actually, this is all you need to comfortably use the messenger for every day. True, users always want something new, and they constantly demand something else from the usual messenger. The WhatsApp developers are figuring out how to put this together and are rolling out new versions of the app. Now they are working on another function, which should appear soon enough in our usual messenger. Let's just say that it is very in the spirit of the times, although I cannot immediately come up with a use case in which it will be indispensable.
When something new appears on such a conservative WhatsApp, it's always interesting.
New WhatsApp feature
WhatsApp part of Facebook is working on adding an expiring media feature, according to a report from WABetaInfo. This is essentially the same feature as for expiring messages that have been in testing for several months, but there are still some differences.
For those who don't know, the expiring messages feature allows users to send messages that self-destruct after a specified amount of time. They are also called expiring messages. Several more expiration options have been added recently for this feature. However, this feature has not yet appeared in the stable version of the application. But now a new media feature is being developed for WhatsApp.
This will allow users to send expiring media such as images, videos and GIFs, which will automatically disappear after the user leaves the chat.
New evidence of this feature was found in the beta version of the WhatsApp app for Android numbered 2.20.201.1. This can be useful for users who forget to delete their media after they have been sent.
WhatsApp messaging is gradually changing.
Disappearing messages on WhatsApp
As a result, when the function is deployed, it will be possible to send messages that will disappear either after a certain time after sending, or when the user leaves the chat. The first method is useful for sending messages that may lose relevance after a while, and the second – for conversations that are important now, and you should not clutter up the feed with them after the end of the conversation. Additional scenarios, including just a variety of communication, everyone will come up with for themselves.
Already now there is a fairly confident idea of how the new function will look. However, everything may still change in the final version of the application. In order to send a disappearing photo, video or GIF, you need to click on the new timer button and select an expiring media. When pressed, the button will turn green. Most likely, such a display is done so that the user can understand that the message will disappear by itself.
A small piece of the interface with a new feature.
When the user leaves the chat and the messages are deleted, they will not leave behind any traces of their existence. That is, there will not even be the very inscription “message deleted” that appears now if your interlocutor deletes the sent message. Even with disappearing text messages, there is still a warning that “This message has expired” after them.
The development team is working to ensure that the user interface of the disappearing messages feature and the media that will be removed upon release differ from each other. This is necessary to make it easier for users to navigate and understand which function they are choosing.
Is it possible to save a disappearing message on WhatsApp
Of course, there are some questions about these functions. For example, will the disappearing message be saved if you take a screenshot before it disappears. You yourself understand that you can just take a picture of the smartphone screen with another smartphone or camera, but this impossibility to take a screenshot could complement this function. After all, many password storage apps do not allow you to take a screenshot when they show the account name and password on the screen. More precisely, it will be done, but the password field will be closed. So the service says it did everything it could.
New WhatsApp messages can disappear pretty quickly.
In general, the developers still have something to work on and what to think about. They also understand this very well and are in no hurry to roll out a crude update. In fact, there is even a chance that a new feature will not appear in the application at all if its creators simply change their minds about it, but this is unlikely. So you just have to be patient.
Neither WhatsApp nor Facebook has officially confirmed the rollout of the new feature, but it is enough for us that it was included in the work plan and there is evidence that the developers are working on it. Personally, I'm not sure that I will use such a function, but it would be better if it was.