WhatsApp’s disappearing messages aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. They get the job done, self-destructing after the set time limit. Great. Now though, well-known lizard-man Mark Zuckerberg has announced an update that’ll let users keep specific disappearing messages. If you think that goes against the entire idea of disappearing messages, you’re absolutely right. Don’t think too hard about it.
The Keeper of messages (and voice notes) at Hogwarts
Keep calm, everyone (and carry on). Your ex won’t be able to keep any disappearing messages willy-nilly. WhatsApp describes the update as “your new sender superpower” because it keeps the sender in the loop. They ultimately have the final say on where a message goes. When a recipient of a disappearing message attempts to save it for later use, the sender is notified and given the option of letting it be saved or banishing it to the void for all eternity.
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To save a disappearing message, just long-press the message you’d like to keep and click that little ‘bookmark’ symbol up at the top of the chat. If the sender grants their permission, kept messages will have the bookmark symbol attached, and stored in a ‘kept messages’ folder.
As for when the update will roll out, we couldn’t say exactly. We know it’s arriving “over the next few weeks” which is about as helpful as a pedal-powered wheelchair. Either way, kept messages are on their way. Soon.