How to send messages that self-destruct on WhatsApp

On WhatsApp you can send messages that self-delete after 24 hours using the Status: here's how to do it

Few people know about this feature of WhatsApp: send messages that self-destruct after 24 hours. Other messaging apps, such as Telegram and Facebook Messenger, are more advanced in this respect and for some time now allow you to send temporary messages that self-delete after a few seconds or after the first viewing. On WhatsApp we are still not at this level, but it is not excluded that soon the developers will release a feature ad hoc.

For the moment you can send WhatsApp messages that delete themselves after 24 hours, using a feature already present within the app. In many of you use it for other purposes: we are talking about the Status. Introduced on WhatsApp for a couple of years now and presented as the messaging app's Stories, it can actually be used to send messages that delete themselves after 24 hours to your friends. By changing the privacy settings, in fact, you can select a group of friends or only one person who will see and read the message. But only for 24 hours, after which it will be deleted. Here's how to send WhatsApp messages that self-delete. 

WhatsApp, how to use temporary messages

The WhatsApp Status is a feature increasingly used by users to post images for all their friends to see. Many use it as if they were Instagram Stories: a personal diary where you can show your daily life through photos and text messages. Few people know that with the Status it is actually possible to send temporary messages to your friends that are self-deleting after 24 hours.

To make the most of the feature you must first change the privacy settings of the Status. Doing so is very simple: you have to launch WhatsApp, press on "Status" and then on the three vertical dots in the top right corner. A window will open and you'll have to click on "Status privacy". In the new tab you'll have three options: "My contacts", "My contacts except..." and "Share with...". If you want to send the temporary message to a group of friends choose the second option and if you want to share it only with one person you have to click on the third one.

Now go back to the Status screen and create a new message: you can decide to publish a photo, a text message or a GIF. Once the Status is published, the recipient of the message will have a dot next to the "Status" tab and will be able to read the Status. After 24 hours the message will be deleted automatically.