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Enable self-erasing messages in WhatsApp

WhatsApp profile picture for self-deleting messagesMessages that disappear from the chat on their own after a short time: Many of you should already be familiar with this from messenger services such as Snapchat or Instagram. For some time now, such a self-destruct mode for chat messages has also been available in WhatsApp. We will show you how you can activate the self-deleting messages and what you should pay attention to when using the function.

Activate self-erasing messages

Suppose you do not want messages that you recently sent in WhatsApp to stay in the chat history and be read forever. Or you don’t want your chats to reach epic lengths over time and drain your iPhone storage. Then you should familiarize yourself with the self-deleting messages in WhatsApp, because the feature ensures that chat messages are automatically deleted from the history after 7 days – for both the sender and the recipient of a message.

In contrast to the messaging apps of the competition, where self-destruction starts after a few hours or even seconds, a week has to pass before the post disappears from view on its own. WhatsApp reserves the right, however, to change the time period for deletion in the future and to offer extended options, as the colleagues from iPhone-Ticker write. To activate the self-deleting messages, proceed as follows:

  1. First open WhatsApp on your iPhone and select a chat in which you want to activate the self-deleting messages.
  2. Then tap on the name of the contact at the top and go to “Self-deleting messages” in the “Contact info” view.
  3. On the next page you put the checkmark at “On”, whereupon the function is activated. The small clock icon in the profile picture of the chat also indicates that the self-deleting messages have been activated for this chat. To switch the function off again if necessary, check the box next to “Off”.

Enable self-erasing messages in WhatsApp

From now on, your messages in the respective chat will be automatically deleted after 7 days, so that they can neither be read on your iPhone nor on the recipient’s device. Conversely, your chat partner can also have the function switched on on their smartphone, so that their messages automatically disappear from the chat after the deadline. Incidentally, the function only affects new messages. Messages previously received or sent are not affected and remain in the chat. You can activate the self-deleting messages in both individual and group chats in the same way.

Self-erasing messages – you should pay attention to that

If you want to use the self-deleting messages in WhatsApp, you should note the following:

  • If you do not open WhatsApp within 7 days, the message disappears without you being able to read it. The message may still be previewed in the messages.
  • If a self-deleting message is quoted, it may still be visible in the chat after 7 days.
  • If a self-erasing message is forwarded to a chat in which self-erasing messages are switched off, the message does not disappear there.
  • If a backup is made before the message is deleted, it will be saved there. However, once the backup is restored, it disappears.
  • Media sent in the chat will also be deleted, but will remain locally on the iPhone, provided that automatic saving is activated in WhatsApp.

Source: iPhone Tricks

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