17.05.2026 10:10
WhatsApp, one of the world's most popular messaging apps, is preparing a significant change to its disappearing messages feature. In the new system being tested, the deletion timer for messages will start not when they are sent, but when they are read by the recipient. Users will be able to choose for messages to be automatically deleted within 5 minutes, 1 hour, or 12 hours. If a message is never opened, the system will completely remove it after 24 hours for security purposes.
WhatsApp is preparing a significant change to its disappearing messages feature. With the new system, the message deletion timer will start not when the message is sent, but when it is read by the recipient.
The "After Reading" feature that the platform has started testing aims to eliminate the problem of messages disappearing before being read.
THE COUNTDOWN WILL START WHEN THE MESSAGE IS READ
In the current system, the deletion timer for disappearing messages started as soon as the message was sent. As a result, some messages could be automatically deleted without being opened by the recipient.
In the new system, the message deletion timer will start running only when the recipient views the message. This way, users will not risk their messages disappearing unread.
OPTIONS: 5 MINUTES, 1 HOUR, AND 12 HOURS
According to the feature being tested in the beta version, users will be able to choose for messages to be automatically deleted 5 minutes, 1 hour, or 12 hours after being read.
If the message is never opened, the system will completely remove it after 24 hours for security purposes.
WILL WORK DIFFERENTLY FOR SENDER AND RECIPIENT
The new feature will have different operations on the sender and recipient sides. On the sender's screen, the message will be deleted 5 minutes after being sent, regardless of whether the recipient has read it or not.
On the recipient's side, the timer will only start when the message is viewed.
OPTIONAL TO USE
WhatsApp's new privacy feature will come disabled by default. Users will be able to manually activate the feature only in the chats they want.
When the company will roll out the feature to all users has not yet been announced.