WhatsApp Disappearing Messages Now Live in India: How to Use the New Feature on Android, iPhone

WhatsApp finally catches up to apps such as Snapchat and Telegram. Read on.

Advertisement
By Aman Rashid | Updated: 23 November 2020 12:30 IST
Highlights
  • Disappearing messages in WhatsApp is now available for everyone
  • You need to install the latest version of WhatsApp to get the feature
  • You’ll need to individually enable disappearing messages for each chat

Disappearing messages is a feature pioneered by Snapchat that’s now available on many chat platforms

WhatsApp disappearing messages are now live in India on both Android and iOS. Earlier this month, WhatsApp had officially announced that it will be introducing disappearing Messages, a feature that automatically erases your WhatsApp messages after a certain period of time. Although this feature was already available across a number of different apps, it has now come to WhatsApp too. The new feature is now finally rolling out for everyone. The details of the new feature are already there on a FAQ page created by WhatsApp, and users can now enable this option to delete messages for individual or group chats after seven days. Follow this guide, as well tell you how to enable disappearing messages in WhatsApp.

WhatsApp: How to enable disappearing messages

Before you proceed, make sure that you've the latest version of WhatsApp installed on your smartphone. For Android users, that would be version 2.21.206.15 and for iPhone users, that would be version 2.21.121.4.

Advertisement

Once this is sorted, go ahead and follow these steps to enable disappearing messages in WhatsApp.

  1. Open a WhatsApp chat > tap Contact Info > scroll down to find the Disappearing Messages feature.
  2. The feature is disabled by default. Tap Continue, followed by tapping On to enable this feature.
  3. You'll have to enable this feature individually for each chat. Once you do, your messages will automatically be deleted after seven days.

You can't decide the duration before the messages disappear in a chat, which means the only option you have right now is seven days, at least for now. Competing apps like Telegram give users multiple options to choose from but WhatsApp has decided to start with just a single time setting.

Advertisement

Apart from this, it is also possible to store the disappearing messages before they are deleted, i.e. by copying these messages and storing them at a different location. The same applies for media files as well, one can always take a screenshot and save a photo before it gets deleted.

This is how you can enable disappearing messages in WhatsApp. For more tutorials, visit our How to section.


Will Apple Silicon Lead to Affordable MacBooks in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
 

Get your daily dose of tech news, reviews, and insights, in under 80 characters on Gadgets 360 Turbo. Connect with fellow tech lovers on our Forum. Follow us on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News for instant updates. Catch all the action on our YouTube channel.

Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Flipkart Big Billion Days Sale 2026: iPhone 17, iPhone 15 Deals Revealed
  2. Apple's Latest Update Finally Fixes Camera, Face ID Issues on Latest iPhones
  3. Flipkart Reveals Pixel 11 Series, Pixel 10a Sale Prices Ahead of Big Billion Days Sale
  4. Vivo V80 Could Be More Expensive Than Its Predecessor, Leak Suggests
  5. Flipkart Big Billion Days Sale: These Motorola Smartphones Confirmed to Get Discounts
  6. Lava Virat Curve 5G Goes on Sale in India Starting Today: Check Price
  7. Nothing Phone (4a), (4b) Now Available in New Variants in India: Prices
  8. Lumio Aura 5 With 4.5-Inch Aluminium Woofers Debuts in India: See Price
  9. Apple Ordered to Pay $5.7 Billion in Taction Haptics Patent Case
  10. These Xiaomi and Redmi Smartphones Could Launch Soon in China
  1. Lumio Aura 5 Launched in India With Dual 4.5-Inch Aluminium Woofers, 200W Peak Output: Price, Specifications
  2. Naughty Dog Confirms Two New The Last of Us Games, Says Will Fully Reveal Intergalactic in 2027
  3. Vivo V80 Price in India, Storage Configurations Tipped Ahead of Launch
  4. Google Pixel Buds Pro 2, Pixel Buds 2a Get New Gemini Voice Controls With Latest App Update
  5. Apple Ordered to Pay $5.7 Billion Over Haptics Patents Used in iPhone, Apple Watch
  6. Flipkart Products Get Buy Button in Google Gemini and AI Mode Test: Report
  7. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, Galaxy S25 Series Tipped to Receive Price Hikes After Galaxy A56 and Galaxy A36
  8. iPhone Duo Leak Reveals New StandBy Faces With Smart Home Controls, Apple Watch-Like Customisation
  9. Nothing Headphone (1) Pro Launched With Triple Drivers, 46dB ANC and 68-Hour Battery Life: Price, Specifications
  10. Apple Rolls Out iOS 27.0.1 Update With Fixes for iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max Face ID and Camera Issues
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2026. All rights reserved.