WhatsApp working on a ‘media expiring’ feature to delete photos and videos once viewed: report

WhatsApp is seen working on a new feature called Expiring Media that would make media files like images, videos, and GIFs sent to the recipient’s phone disappear once the recipient leaves the chat. The new development appears to be an extension of the expiring messages feature that is working in the IM app for some time. With Expiring Media, WhatsApp users could send photos and videos temporarily. The new feature is not yet part of the beta versions of WhatsApp.

WhatsApp feature tracker WABetaInfo has shared some screenshots showing the feature in action. One of the screenshots shows that the feature would be available to access via a dedicated timer button. Users need to tap on that button after adding media to their chats. This will allow the selected media content to expire, as another screenshot suggests.

WhatsApp is considered to offer a dedicated button to allow users to enable the Expiring Media feature
Photo credit: WABetaInfo

Images and videos shared by enabling the expiring media feature will completely disappear once the recipient leaves the chat window, reports WABetaInfo. Also, WhatsApp would highlight such media files with a timer icon so that the recipient knows that the shared files will expire after they leave the chat.

WABetaInfo mentions that the new feature is in development for Android users in the early stage, although it would eventually be provided to both Android and iPhone users.

WhatsApp would highlight the recipients on the expired media through an icon
Photo credit: WABetaInfo

WhatsApp’s Expiring Media feature looks pretty similar to how Instagram allows users to send a disappearing photo or video as a direct message on its platform. Instagram also allows users to send multimedia files that disappear in group messages. However, WhatsApp has yet to be seen working on a similar experience for group users.

Last month, a beta version of WhatsApp for Android (version 2.20.197.10) was spotted with some evidence of the messages expiring feature that would allow users to send messages that would disappear from the chat after seven days. A screenshot shared in reference to the development suggested that in addition to chats, media would expire in chat using the expire messages feature, but some photos or videos could be pre-saved before expiration.

WhatsApp has not provided any details about the messages that expire or the media that expire. Therefore, there is no clarity on when the new features will be provided to users, at least for beta testing.

In 2020, will WhatsApp get the main feature that all Indians are waiting for? We talked about this on Orbital, our weekly tech podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.