Changes coming in WhatsApp’s disappearing message feature, group members will also get the benefit
In daily WhatsApp chatting, lots of media files like messages, photos, videos are stored on our phone. As a result, to save storage, we usually have to delete all unnecessary messages and media files separately. But last November, a fun feature called ‘Disappearing Messages’ was added to this instant messaging platform, which, if enabled, automatically deletes certain chats after seven days. Note that WhatsApp’s ‘Disappearing Messages’ feature is not a default setting, but can be turned on individually for group chats and general chats. In other chats, both parties can turn it on / off (enable/disable) but in group chat so far only admins have control over this feature. But according to a recent report, in the coming days, this feature of WhatsApp will be accessible to other members of the group besides the admin.
According to WABetaInfo, this feature is currently in development. In other words, WhatsApp is now testing to support this feature in the latest beta version of Android 2.21.6.8, so that other members of the group can also turn on or off the ‘Disappearing Message’ feature, which until now only group admins could do.
However, it is known that other members of the group will not be able to fully access this feature, for which they will have to rely on the group admin at least a little bit. This is because the group admin will have two options called “all participants” and “only admins” through which he can determine who will be in control of the ‘disappearing message‘. That is, the choice of group admin depends on whether other members of the group can access this feature. Also, this feature allows you to change other settings in the group, including topics, icons and descriptions. It will be available under the “Edit group info” feature. There is no separate option for ‘Disappearing Messages’ only.
Although the final decision rests with the group admin, it is best to have an option for other members of the group. WABetaInfo mentions that this feature will be launched soon for beta users. It is pertinent to note that
WhatsApp is experimenting with adding a timer option to delete messages after 24 hours in its ‘Disappearing Messages’ feature, which is currently set at 7 days. It may also add support to disappearing images in the future. However, no specific information has been found as to when these two features will be available to all users.
