How To Enable WhatsApp Disappearing Messages For All Chats

Since last November, WhatsApp users have been enjoying the option to set chat messages to automatically be deleted after 7 days. Now, WhatsApp is expanding the functionality by allowing users to enable disappearing messages for all chats by default and making it possible to customize the amount of time that has to pass for messages to disappear.

How To Enable Disappearing Messages

1. Open the WhatsApp app on your Android or iOS device.
2. Go to WhatsApp settings.
3. Tap Account and then Privacy.
4. Tap Default message timer.
5. Select a duration.

You can choose between 24 hours, 7 days, and 90 days. Keep in mind that this setting won’t affect previously sent messages — only new ones.

As useful as the disappearing messages feature is when it comes to helping WhatsApp users protect their privacy, it does have a few limitations.

To start with, automatically deleted messages might still be displayed in the recipient’s notifications. They might also be quoted in replies, forwarded to other people, and even included in backups.

Of course, recipients can also take screenshots of disappearing messages before they become automatically deleted, copy & paste their content somewhere else, or even take pictures of them using another device.

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For these reasons, the disappearing messages feature should never be used by WhatsApp users to protect their privacy when chatting with untrusted individuals. Instead, it should be used only with trusted friends, colleagues, and familiar members as a way to minimize the risk of third-party data breaches, which often happen when a device that’s not properly protected gets lost or stolen.

To learn more about the disappearing messages feature (as well as any other WhatsApp feature), we recommend you visit WhatsApp’s help page, which covers everything we’ve explained here and a whole lot more.