WhatsApp has brought in the vanishing message timers for existing chats to the beta channel

Disappearing messages is not a new feature, so to speak, and many apps that support messaging already support this. While the concept of ephemeral messages and their use is great, most apps that support this feature do not give you any control over how long those messages last or which chats this vanishing mode applies to. 

For example, on Snapchat, all messages, including media, have a 24-hour shelf-life and will all disappear once their time is up, unless they are saved manually. Instagram has a similar feature for its disappearing messages. 

In May this year, we learned that WhatsApp was working on a new option to convert existing chats to disappearing texts, if you so wanted, and in bulk. Finally, the platform has started testing this feature with some users who are a part of the beta program. 

WhatsApp v2.22.16.8 beta brings in the disappearing message feature that will allow users to set multiple existing chats to disappear with default settings. Before this, the settings controls only included radio buttons that allowed you to see how long before a message would get deleted for all new chats. With the new update, users can now apply the same timer to existing chats of their choosing. 

As we see on the screenshot shared by WABetaInfo, the menu that controls the disappearing texts is hidden behind a tiny shortcut link, and as Android Police points out, it would be helpful if there was a prominent button. But in the platform’s defence, it might be thinking that this is not a feature that users will need to access often so an in-your-face button is not needed. 

Now, not all beta testers have access to this feature right now, so it is rolling out via a server-side switch. Over time WhatsApp might roll it out more widely.