A new update for popular messaging service WhatsApp has been released to address security issues with their automatically self-destructing messages.
The self-destructing message feature was introduced at the end of last year, allowing users to send messages that would delete themselves after a set time. WhatsApp introduced this feature as a way to not only protect those who need to send vital information, but to better replicate an in-person conversation.
“Living apart from family and friends for over a year has made it clearer than ever that just because we can’t physically talk in person, it doesn’t mean we should have to sacrifice the privacy of our personal connections.”
“We believe Disappearing Messages along with end-to-end encryption are two crucial features that define what it means to be a private messaging service today.”
Credit: WhatsApp
Up until now, those with media visibility enabled (a commonly used feature with WhatsApp) would still have photos and videos sent via a self-destructing message saved to their phone.
In the new update, Media Visibility is disabled for disappearing chats on Android, while the “Save to Camera Roll” option on iPhone has also been disabled.
The information surrounding the new change was identified by WABetaInfo, who are notorious for discovering changes and updates.
“This is to ensure a better privacy experience when using disappearing messages, and to help keep media more private in disappearing chat threads.”
While this is a step up for social media security on the platform, media sent via disappearing messages can still be saved manually, giving people who want to keep your sensitively sent information the ability to do so. There has been no news as of yet as to whether WhatsApp have plans to change this.
