WhatsApp is introducing a “disappearing messages” option that will erase chats from the phone of both the sender and recipient after seven days, according to BBC News. The Facebook-owned app, which has two billion users worldwide, said the setting would help keep chats private. But it said recipients would still be able to screenshot or forward any messages, photos or videos that they wanted to keep. The option will appear for WhatsApp users by the end of November.
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WhatsApp are likely keen to stop users moving to other, more privacy-focused messaging platforms, such as Signal and Telegram, which already offer built-in disappearing messages along with additional security features.
Self-erasing chat functionality offers a good layer of protection if people decide to share sensitive information like bank details or passwords with their contacts. However, many people still have an issue with the fact that data giant Facebook owns WhatsApp – even though it continues to state that they do not have access to the content within the encrypted messages.