How WhatsApp’s Self-Destructing Messages Are Going to Work

We’ve known for a while that WhatsApp was working on self-destructing messages for iPhone and Android, and it now looks like the rollout is just around the corner. The company has published an official FAQ that provides us with an early look at this new feature, including several privacy warnings that users must have in mind when enabling it in their conversations. First and foremost, if self-destructing messages sound familiar to you, it’s because other applications, including WhatsApp-rival Telegram, have had it for a long time. WhatsApp calls them “disappearing messages,” obviously in an attempt to avoid the naming used by Telegram. But as compared to its rival, WhatsApp won’t let users decide how fast they want the messages to self destruct. Instead, all messages will disappear automatically after seven days, both in private conversations and in group chats. The self-destructing ...