14 DAY TRIAL // WhatsApp has already implemented self-destructing messages earlier this year, but due to the way it’s designed, this feature only automatically deletes the conversation every 7 days.
In other words, you send one message today in a conversation where the self-destructing feature is enabled and WhatsApp should delete it this time next week.
The worst thing about it is that you can’t even change this setting, so no matter if you like it or not, WhatsApp sticks with the 7-day setting by default.
But according to a report from WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is finally working on resolving this as we speak, as the company wants to enable a 24-hour setting as well. This means WhatsApp would now remove messages just one day after the sending time, though it’s not yet clear if the company wants to give users the option to choose between 7 days and 24 hours.
The Telegram example
Right now, however, this is quite a welcome update, especially because other apps, such as Telegram, provide users with much more control in this regard.
Telegram’s secret chats feature, which has been around for quite a while, allows users to select the self-destructing message time, all starting with as low as 1 second. In other words, you don’t even need to blink because the message might be gone and there’s no way to bring it back.
It goes without saying WhatsApp has remained completely tight-lipped on this update, there’s no doubt it’s something the service needs, especially if it wants to provide users with more control over their messages.
To be honest, disappearing messages make little sense the way they are configured right now, especially because a 7-day timer is way too long for a conversation where the history needs to be gone. And probably the major shortcoming is that users can’t adjust the timer in any way.