WhatsApp could follow in the footsteps of Telegram and include messages that self-destruct. That is, conversations that disappear after a while. As WaBetaInfo has revealed, this function would already be in development and would only be available for groups, not for personal chats, at least for now. As you can imagine, the function would allow you to configure a time interval for the messages to disappear. At the moment it has been filtered for five seconds or for one hour, although we We imagine that if it becomes official, other intervals would be included.
Self-destroying WhatsApp messages would be very simple. The administrators of a group could set messages to disappear after a while. In this way, the message would be automatically deleted after that time. There would be no record of any "deleted message" messages, as if we have the delete function available in WhatsApp. What we don't know for now is when the time would begin to count. In other messaging apps, it is normal for the countdown to occur from the moment in which a user reads the message, which in the end supposes a progressive deletion in a group with several people who read the message in different minutes.
As we say, WhatsApp would not be the first application to include messages that self-destruct. Telegram has already had it for some time, and also in private chats. To use it, all you have to do is click on the user profile you want to talk to and activate the "start secret chat" option. You will have to wait for this person to accept your invitation,which can take a few seconds. This new chat will appear in the list of chats on the main panel, recognizable because a lock icon is displayed next to the username you have invited.
This system is very useful, since you can send some confidential data to any of your contacts and then there is no trace of it, such as your bank details, credit card number or password. When you want to self-destruct the message, you just have to go to the three vertical dots at the top of the conversation and choose the time in which you want this message to disappear without a trace.
WhatsApp would only use it for groups, although we hope that they will eventually also do it for private chats as is the case with Telegram.
