WhatsApp continues to work on different features to ensure a better messaging experience for users and stand out from its peers.
According to a report by WABetainfo, WhatsApp’s latest beta for Android has been added with a feature that lets you send expiring media files. The new feature is called Expiring Media.
According to the website, “When the user decides to send an expiring media (images, videos, and GIFs), the media will disappear in the recipient’s phone, once he leaves the chat.” That means you don’t have to set an expiry timeline for media files. They will disappear once the recipient has viewed them and closes the chat.
Expiring Media seems to be an extension of the now in works Expiring Messages feature. The implementation, nonetheless, is quite different. For expiring messages, a recipient will see “This media is expired” once the time is up. For media, there’s no trace left – it completely disappears.
Under the beta, expiring media files can be sent by tapping on a new button, placed alongside the media attachment button, then adding images the traditional way.
Expiring media is a security feature, but for now, there’s no talk of screenshot detection. If the feature has to ensure privacy, then WhatsApp must prevent the recipient’s from taking screenshots while viewing expiring media. Otherwise, what will be the point of it all?
Launch Date
The feature is in early beta, with no definite launch date provided.