The world’s most popular chit-chat app is introducing the option for users to send and receive self-destructing voice messages on its platform (via Engadget).
There’s a great hunger for this type of “ephemeral data”, and if you don’t believe it, check this out: in December 2019, an analytics report announced Snapchat to be the fifth most downloaded mobile app of the decade. And you know what Snapchat was all about back then. Ahem, ahem.
Voice messages that automatically delete after being played are joining the other “Top Confidential!” messaging options that already are available for WhatsApp users. Users know very well that they can send disappearing messages and media on both Android and iOS.
For voice messages in the “Mission: Impossible” mode, one has to select View Once mode and make a voice message and it’ll self-destruct after the recipient hears it. Sure, this actively enhances privacy in the case of audio recordings that mention sensitive topics. But if the recipient is in a loud environment, has a temporary hearing loss issue, or just doesn’t pay much attention at the exact moment upon playing what you’ve sent them, be ready to re-record and send again that voice message.
WhatsApp is playing it safe and says users should only send View Once voice messages to people they absolutely trust, as there are ways to get around even the self-destructing messages – that’s just the way digital technology works. For instance, Android users can use the screen record function as they listen and anyone can use another camera or external microphone to capture the message.
The self-destructing voice messages option was talked about as early as mid-October, as we covered it when it was in beta for some testers to play with. The source’s report claims the new James Bond-ish tool is rolling out globally “over the next few days”, so stay tuned for the update.
And if you’re not sure how to send disappearing messages on WhatsApp, don’t fret. It’s super easy:
