In an effort to make conversations feel lighter and more close to in-person as possible, WhatsApp has introduced Disappearing Messages, a feature that, when enabled, will automatically delete messages after seven days.
This week-long period allows folks to go back to recent messages should they need to, and I suppose through some sort of internal testing, users hardly ever need to go sifting through messages that are older than a week.
We’re starting with seven days because we think it offers peace of mind that conversations aren’t permanent, while remaining practical so you don’t forget what you were chatting about. The shopping list or store address you received a few days ago will be there while you need it, and then disappear after you don’t.
Seems good enough.
Disappearing Messages will begin rolling out to all users starting this month.