How do disappearing messages work in a chat?

Disappearing messages remove every message in a chat for both people 24 hours after it was sent; you turn it on per chat, and both of you can see that it is on.

Steps

1. Open the chat.
2. Tap the chat header at the top.
3. Turn on Disappearing messages.

A note in the chat tells both of you that disappearing messages are on. From now on, each new message is deleted for both people 24 hours after it was sent. To turn it off, follow the same steps; a note appears again.

What disappears and what does not

• Messages sent while the setting is on disappear after 24 hours, for you and for the other person.
• Messages sent before you turned it on stay. The setting is not applied backwards.
• Messages sent after you turn it off stay as normal.
• Photos revealed through the mutual reveal are not messages. They stay revealed until someone re-blurs.

Good to know

• Either person in the chat can turn the setting on or off. There is no need to agree first, and the other person is always told.
• The screenshot shield is active in every chat, so a disappearing message cannot be kept as a screenshot. If someone tries, you are told about it.
• Want a single message gone right away instead of in 24 hours? Press and hold it and choose Delete for both. That works in any chat, with or without disappearing messages.
• If you report someone, you can choose to attach the chat to the report. Do that before the messages disappear if you want the safety team to see them.
• Disappearing messages are a privacy tool, not a safety guarantee. Do not share anything you would not want repeated. The other person could still write it down.

Related

• /help/screenshot-shield
• /help/how-mutual-reveal-works
• /help/read-receipts-and-active-status
• /help/block-and-report
• /features/disappearing-messages