The meta-owned popular messaging app WhatsApp has added a new feature. According to the developers, the users of WhatsApp now will be able to set a time frame for the messages they send either to an individual or in a group message. In other words, the users will be able to set time-limited messages as the default value for messages sent through WhatsApp.
The time frame for the said default value ranges from as little as 24 hours to up to 90 days, in addition to 7 days. Notably, this is not the first introduction of a feature that lets the users send a message within a limited timeframe. The limited-time message function was first launched on the app back in November last year, and this year the users received a new feature called a single-view photo and video feature in August. As the name suggests, the sent photo or video with the single-view option enabled lets the recipient of the message view the message only once. Now with the inclusion of the new feature, the WhatsApp developers are taking the validity period for messages a step further.
The time-limited messages will disappear 7 days after the user sends them, and the new feature allows the users to set time-limited messages as default values. Moreover, once enabled this feature will be applicable to both individual one-to-one conversations or enable time-limited messages when creating group conversations. However, the recipient will also receive a notification indicating that the user has activated time-limited messages.
The market research agency called Statista, WhatsApp is the world’s most popular mobile messaging app with almost 2 billion users. Other top five such apps include Facebook Messenger which has 1.3 billion users, Microsoft boasts of a staggering 1.25 billion users, QQ with 5.9 billion users, and Telegram with 550 million users. The popularity of the app is also one of the driving forces behind the inclusion of new features such as the latest time-limited messages.
