Disappearing messages are meant to disappear. But on WhatsApp, its Disappearing Messages feature is not entirely ephemeral.
It all began when WhatsApp first launched the Disappearing Messages feature, and later the 'View Once' feature.
WhatsApp then improved the feature by adding multiple durations for those messages.
This time, in a twist, disappearing messages don't have to disappear, but only if the sender agrees
This is what happens when 'Keep in Chat' feature is turned on.
WhatsApp describes the adjustment as a "sender superpower."
As explained by Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, the sender superpower is the ability to grant or deny recipients' request to keep a disappearing message.
In a blog post, the popular messaging app explained that:
"Today we’re introducing 'Keep in Chat,' so you can hang on to texts you need for later, with a special superpower for the sender. "
Some things are worth keeping Now you can keep messages from disappearing in your chats.
With Keep, you get final say and remain in control of your messages. pic.twitter.com/klBg1tFG5r— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) April 21, 2023
When WhatsApp first introduced the Disappearing Messages feature, its purpose was to make messages to not stick around forever.
This extra layer of privacy protects messages from falling to the wrong hands, because sometimes, there's that occasional messages that have key pieces of information that are meant to be viewed once, and not more.
With Keep in Chat, user can hang on those disappearing messages for longer.
"We believe if you’ve sent the message, it’s your choice whether others in the chat can keep it for later," said WhatsApp
To make this work, recipient who places a request to the sender who sent a disappearing message, will have WhatsApp to notify that sender. The sender will then have the ability to veto the decision.
If the recipient decides that their disappearing message can’t be kept by others, that decision is final, and no one else can keep it and the message will be deleted when the timer expires.
The superpower here is that the sender of a disappearing message has the final say on how messages they sent are protected.
If the sender agrees, the disappearing message can be saved.
These saved messages are stored inside the recipient's device, with WhatsApp noting them with a bookmark icon.
Interacting with the bookmark icon allows users to see all the messages they've saved, organized by chat, in the Kept Messages folder.