WhatsApp ‘Disappearing Messages’ Feature May Not Be a Good Idea for Indian Users, Here’s Why

WhatsApp, one of the most popular free messaging platforms in the world, is reportedly working on a ‘Disappearing Messages’ feature. WhatsApp has apparently submitted the new update through the Google Play Beta Program, bringing the version up to 2.19.275.

What is the WhatsApp ‘Disappearing Messages’ Feature?

As per the screenshots that have been spotted, users will have the option to choose if a message needs to be categorized under “Disappearing messages”, and may also chose the duration of time for which it will be visible ranging from 5 seconds to one hour, according to WA Beta Info.

After the chosen time, the message marked for removal will be automatically deleted and without leaving a trace of the message being sent. WhatsApp has reportedly only started to work on this feature, and there is no timeframe on when this option will be available for users.

Why the WhatsApp ‘Disappearing Messages’ Feature May Not Be Goof for Indian Users?

Although it is unlikely that WhatsApp would release this update without weighing in the pros and cons of this Disappearing messages feature, certain negative implications the feature may have must be considered. In India especially, the popular free messaging platform in the past has been used for the circulation of fake messages as well as running targeted campaigns.

In fact, Facebook is fighting a case in several courts in India against the demand for linking social media profiles of users with Aadhaar number. Facebook, which owns WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger, is against the suggestion on the basis that sharing of the 12 digit Aadhaar number would violate the privacy policy of users. Furthermore, Facebook says that its WhatsApp messages are end-to-end encrypted and therefore even they had no access to users’ messages.

However, adding the “Disappearing Messages’ Feature may complicate the fake messages menace further as it would make tracing the origin of a message even more complicated. Right now, users have the option to delete the message for everyone, but the same is displayed as “message deleted”.

Furthermore, a ‘Forwarded’ label has been recently added to indicate to a user if a certain message has been forwarded or not. Therefore, how a ‘Disappearing Message’ feature would impact these issues need to be monitored carefully before the final update is released.

Nevertheless, what would you as users have to say about this feature? Should the WhatsApp Disappearing Messages Feature be released or not? Let us know your views in the comment slot below.