WhatsApp Disappearing Messages: All You Need to Know

More than 9 million identities get stolen, and over 100000 data and identity theft breaches happen annually. That's why it's very important to maintain a high level of privacy and keep your personal data safe. Whether it's documents, WhatsApp messages, or anything personally identifiable to you, it's crucial to keep all of that away from prying eyes. If you're a privacy-focused person, it's a good idea to use the WhatsApp Disappearing Messages feature. As the name suggests, messages will automatically disappear after a set duration, ensuring no one will have access to them.

Part 1. What is WhatsApp Disappearing Messages

WhatsApp Disappearing Messages is a rather new, yet optional feature added by WhatsApp. The idea is to offer users more control over their privacy. You can set up the messages to disappear at a designated timeline. That can be set up to be 1 day, 7 days, or 90 days. Messages will disappear once the feature is enabled and set up properly. Older messages that you received before enabling WhatsApp Disappearing Messages will not be affected; they will remain intact.  

1Does Disappearing Messages Delete for Everyone on WhatsApp?

Yes, disappearing messages on WhatsApp delete for everyone in the chat after a set period of time. All messages will be removed once you enable this feature. In a group chat, the group admin needs to enable Disappearing Messages feature. Once it's enabled, messages will disappear for everyone.

2Does WhatsApp Notify Screenshots of Disappearing Messages?

WhatsApp doesn't notify users if the someone takes a screenshot or does a screen recording of those disappearing messages. That means the person you are talking with can take a screenshot and keep those messages. However, you won't know if that happened, as WhatsApp sends no notification.

3Can You Tell if Someone Turned On Disappearing Messages?

Yes, WhatsApp will tell you if the Disappearing Messages feature is enabled by someone you are talking with. The notification only appears when that feature is enabled by one of the users in the conversation. That way, you will easily know if the other person uses Disappearing Messages, and when messages will be automatically deleted.

4What Happens if I Don't Open a Disappearing Message Before It Expires?

The message will disappear, but a notification preview might still be visible. So you can see the message in the notification center. Once you swipe and remove the preview, you won't be able to see the message anymore, as it was already removed via the Disappearing Messages feature.

Part 2. How to Turn On or Off WhatsApp Disappearing Messages?

For individuals

If you want to turn on/off the Disappearing Messages feature when talking with someone on WhatsApp, you need to do the following:

Method 1

Method 2

For group chats

Part 3. How to Recover Disappearing Messages on WhatsApp?

There isn’t a direct method to help you recover any chats that you deleted on WhatsApp. However, you can still use some ways to find it out.

Keep Disappearing messages

WhatsApp allows you to keep Disappearing Messages. It’s easy. Just long press on the disappearing messages, and then tap Keep. If you do that, the seller will receive a notification that you want to keep those messages. It's the best method for you to keep some of the messages from disappearing. However, it's not something you can do in secret.

Check WhatsApp Chats Backup

You can set up Chat Backup for WhatsApp if you enter Settings/Chats/ Chat Backup. But how can you access the saved chats?

For Android

WhatsApp backups on Google Drive are not directly accessible like files. They are tied to your Google account and can only be restored when you reinstall WhatsApp and log in with the same phone number and Google account.

To check if a backup exists:

Here, you’ll see the date and size of the last backup stored on Google Drive.

For iPhone

Here you can find your WhatsApp backup.

Use AirDroid Parental Control

One of the most effective ways to keep Disappearing Messages from WhatsApp is to use AirDroid Parental Control. The app can help you keep disappearing messages through tracking notifications. Even if disappearing messages get deleted, you still have a record of all notifications. That makes the entire process very effective since you can easily access those notifications and see what messages were sent.

Whether you want to keep a record of WhatsApp messages disappeared, protect your child by seeing what messages they receive, or any other use case, this can be very effective. AirDroid Parental Control can help maintain a very high level of privacy and safety while also being easy to set up.

Ask the Sender to Re-send

If you’ve accidentally deleted a disappearing message on WhatsApp or it vanished before you could read it. Simply reach out to them politely and explain the situation. They can either re-send the message or provide the details you missed. 

Part 4. Is It Rude to Turn on Disappearing Messages?

No, it’s your choice. No matter if you talk with a friend, or you start a new conversation, you may not want to keep some personal or sensitive information. So you might turn on Disappearing Messages. But it’s better to communicate with them. If you enable Disappearing Messages without any explanation, it might make the other person feel like you’re trying to hide something. To avoid misunderstandings, you’d better let the other person know why you’re using this feature and ensure they’re comfortable with it. 

Advantages:

1More private

Sometimes, you might be discussing sensitive topics with someone. Or you might be sending images or messages that only your loved one should see. Having the option to automatically delete those messages within a day or a week can be extremely helpful. It can ensure your privacy.

2Save more usage

If you have a limited amount of space on your phone, it makes sense to delete messages automatically. That's especially true if you're sending lots of photos and videos to other recipients. With Disappearing Images, all of them will be deleted, thus making it easier to save space.

Limitations:

1Can't be restored

Once the messages are removed, they are gone. It means that if you accidentally delete a message or miss reading it before it disappears, it’s hard to retrieve it. So people need to pay attention to important conversations and consider alternative methods for saving critical information shared through this feature.

2Recipients can still take screenshots

While these Disappearing Messages get removed in several days, people can still take screenshots or copy the content before it disappears. While the feature automatically deletes messages after a set time, it doesn’t prevent someone from saving the information manually. So people should still think twice before they send confidential information.

3Messages are not deleted from backups

WhatsApp’s disappearing messages are not deleted from backups. They just remove messages from the individual or group chats. This means that the feature doesn’t guarantee complete deletion of messages, so it’s important to be mindful of this when sharing sensitive or private information. 

3Notifications may still show message previews

Message previews are sent to users as a way to notify them of any new WhatsApp messages they receive. That means even if you scheduled disappearing messages to be deleted, the user can still see any messages they received via notifications. However, once the notifications are removed, there's no way to see or access those messages that were already deleted.

Conclusion

WhatsApp Disappearing Messages can be a great feature for anyone looking to manage their messages better. Whether you have sensitive messages, images or videos, want to keep info private, or save space on your device, using Disappearing Messages can be a great idea. While it has its downsides, Disappearing Messages can be a helpful feature for privacy-conscious users!