WhatsApp is actively working on a major upgrade to its existing set of privacy features with disappearing messages. Earlier this year, the platform was spotted testing a more flexible disappearing message feature on Android, but now the same is rolling out to some iPhone users.
WhatsApp After Reading Timer Is Being Tested on iOS
According to the recent findings by WABetaInfo in the TestFlight app, select iPhone users running the latest WhatsApp Beta for iOS version 2.6.19.10.72 are now getting a brand new After reading timer for their disappearing chats.
For those unaware, the gist of the feature is that instead of starting the countdown of WhatsApp disappearing messages when users hit Send, the timer only starts once the recipient opens the chat and views the text. Users can configure this read-based expiry with short-term timers – 5 minutes, 1 hour or 12 hours.
As an example, when a user sends a message with a 5-minute after reading timer, the text will be deleted from the user's personal phone 5 minutes after hitting send. However, it will wait in the recipient's inbox for hours if they're away from their phone. As soon as they open the chat, their local 5-minute countdown begins.
That said, if the recipient doesn't read the message within 24 hours, it will automatically expire and disappear. As with the current disappearing message framework, this timer is completely optional and turned off by default. Therefore, users don't have to worry about chats suddenly vanishing.
Besides, WhatsApp is also allowing users to enable after reading on a per-chat basis, meaning users can apply these rules to select conversations for extra peace of mind. The feature is currently limited to a small pool of beta testers on Android and iOS. However, WhatsApp is expected to expand the rollout to more users soon.
That's not the only privacy-focused feature that's rolling out, though. A recent WhatsApp update added Incognito Chat with Meta AI for more private conversations. Besides, WhatsApp rolled out themes on iOS, extended the Pinned chats limit and also brought Animated Stickers.
