Back in November 2020, WhatsApp has rolled out a new feature that allowed users to send messages that disappear after 7 days. Now, it seems that the company is working on a similar update that will have messages disappear after 90 days.

Previously, the popular messaging application had stated that it is working on view once messages that would disappear forever after just being viewed once. Similarly, its latest Beta build brings a 90 days disappearing message feature that would also have messages removed after around three months. As of right now, this is in the Beta build version 2.21.17.16 that is available for Android.

In other words, the feature is still some time away from making it to the live version of the app. A new report from WaBetaInfo also shared screenshots that showcased a new menu that lets users customize their ‘Disappearing Messages.’ This menu offers options ranging from 90 days, 7 days, 24 hours, or just completely turning off the feature, which means that it basically offers users more flexibility and options to choose from.

Unfortunately, it is unclear when this feature might be rolled out for the live WhatsApp build since the company is known to test features many weeks or even months before it is finally released to the broader user base. Although, we do know that it will arrive in a future update and that more options is better for the user as well. So stay tuned for more updates.

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Right from the day WhatsApp announced its changes in Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, it has been facing a lot of backlash. Users on Social media have been expressing their disapproval and some are even recommending alternatives. As a result, rivals like Telegram and Signal have witnessed millions of downloads recently. To end this, WhatsApp has now given an explanation and postponed the cut-off date.

WhatsApp tweeted that it’s working constantly to counter the confusion on the privacy of users’ messages and Account suspension. Through a blog post, it has now announced the extension of the cut-off date to May 15, 2021. Also, WhatsApp clearly says that it won’t delete anyone’s account on February 8 which was earlier the last date for users to accept the new update changes.

Speaking of which, in case you are unaware, WhatsApp recently updated its privacy policy and terms of service. Accordingly, it added new sections about business chats and sharing of data with other Facebook companies.

However, People started spreading the news that WhatsApp gets access to Private messages and locations. To this, WhatsApp now says that they are protected by end-to-end encryption and neither Facebook/WhatsApp can access it.

Thank you to everyone who’s reached out. We're still working to counter any confusion by communicating directly with @WhatsApp users. No one will have their account suspended or deleted on Feb 8 and we’ll be moving back our business plans until after May – https://t.co/H3DeSS0QfO

— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) January 15, 2021

EDITOR’S PICK: Facebook under antitrust probe in Turkey over updated WhatsApp terms

Through the blog post, WhatsApp also says that it will continue to follow the things that it did before as shown below:

• No access to users’ private messages by WhatsApp/Facebook
• WhatsApp doesn’t store logs of Messages/call info.
• WhatsApp/Facebook can’t see your Shared Location.
• WhatsApp doesn’t share your contacts with Facebook.
• WhatsApp Groups are Private.
• You can make your messages disappear(via Disappearing Messages)
• Locally Download your data anytime.

That said, WhatsApp still stands by the update changes regarding Businesses, Payments, and concurrently Facebook’s help. Precisely, some businesses that use Facebook’s hosting services might run on WhatsApp too. WhatsApp will label them separately so you can make your choice as to whether chat with them/not.

It further mentions clauses about Discovering businesses from Facebook/Instagram Ads and using their shopping experiences on WhatsApp. Simply put, the update excludes sharing info like personal messages, contacts & location to Facebook.

Nevertheless, WhatsApp is now moving back the date for accepting the terms. During this period, we can expect more explanation about privacy in future before the business options go live on May 15.

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The post WhatsApp postpones new Privacy Policy cut-off date to May 15; Explains the changes in Detail appeared first on Gizmochina.

WhatsApp recently rolled out a “mute forever” on its messaging platform. However, it is available for a long time on its rival messaging platforms like Telegram. Now, the company is finally working on another feature that is again quite old on the latter. A new FAQ page on WhatsApp provides details about the upcoming “Disappearing Messages” feature.

As stopped by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp has opened a new FAQ support page for the feature. In it, it describes what’s coming and how to enable/disable it. It says the new messages sent after enabling the feature will be deleted after seven days. However, this negates the previous Expiring Messages feature in Beta that allowed users to customize the time. This started back in 2019, when we saw in a Beta version that users can delete the messages after an hr/a day/a week/a month/a year.

Prospects of Disappearing Messages

To compare, this is available as a self-destruct option for secret chats on Telegram. And users can customize the time interval as well. Still, this feature on WhatsApp looks like it will work across the board when it launches. Moving on, WhatsApp says the messages sent before enabling it won’t get affected. Although users get to control it on individual chats, only Admins can enable/disable it on Groups.

That said, the feature comes with a lot of conditions as well. If a recipient doesn’t open his WhatsApp for seven days he can still see the preview of messages in the notification window although it gets deleted inside the chat. Similarly, if you quote a disappearing message, the quote text might stay. Also, if you forward disappearing messages to a group/chat where the feature is off, it won’t vanish.

EDITOR’S PICK: WhatsApp Web to receive support for Voice and Video calls: Report

A few Disclaimers of the feature

For backups, every new backup will include the disappearing messages as well. And it will get deleted if the backup is restored after seven days. Having said that WhatsApp also has a disclaimer regarding the feature.

It says users can still take a screenshot, forward, copy & save content, or capture it with another camera to save the messages. And WABetaInfo says the “save to camera roll” will save the disappearing media to local device irrespective of the chats.

How to enable/disable it- Finally, the WhatsApp FAQ page also has steps to enable/disable it on Android/iOS/Web/Desktop/KaiOS. To enable/disable, Open WhatsApp. Go into an individual/group chat. Tap on the name. Now, you can toggle the feature on/off by selecting the Disappearing Messages option.

Currently, there is no ETA for this feature but we can expect it anytime soon after the multi-device support.

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