WhatsApp Makes Disappearing Messages a Default Option With Multiple Durations

[MacRumors]

WhatsApp says it is rolling out a new option that makes disappearing messages the default behavior for all new chats on the end-to-end encrypted messaging platform.

It's been over a year since WhatsApp launched its disappearing messages feature, which allows messages, photos, and videos to be marked to disappear after seven days. The feature can be enabled for direct messages and in groups by members with administrator privileges.

The latest development of the feature lets users set all new messages to disappear by default, giving them the choice to move away from the accustomed world in which there's a permanent digital record of everything that's said. From the company's blog post:

Today we are excited to provide our users with more options to control their messages and how long they stick around, with default disappearing messages and multiple durations.

WhatsApp users will now have the option to turn on disappearing messages by default for all new chats. When enabled, all new one-on-one chats you or another person start will be set to disappear at your chosen duration, and we've added a new option when creating a group chat that lets you turn it on for groups you create. This new feature is optional and does not change or delete any of your existing chats.

In addition to the default option, WhatsApp is also adding two new durations for disappearing messages: 24 hours and 90 days, as well as the existing option of 7 days.

To turn on disappearing messages by default for all new individual chats, go to WhatsApp Settings -> Account -> Privacy -> Default message timer, and then select a duration.

When someone chooses to switch to default disappearing messages, WhatsApp will display a message in their chats that tells people this is the default they've chosen, to make it clear that it's nothing personal.

Article Link: WhatsApp Makes Disappearing Messages a Default Option With Multiple Durations

 

[szw-mapple fan]

As long as this doesn't get turned on automatically in a buggy update. As the de facto family tech support, I don't want family members asking me about where their WhatsApp messages disappeared to.

 

[Bandaman]

I still don't understand why anyone uses this Facebook garbage.

 

[Ifti]

People will start screen shotting their message screens then...... lol

 

[MajorFubar]

I still don't understand why anyone uses this Facebook garbage.

Because it's a cross-platform encrypted messaging service that works well on PCs, Macs, Android and iOS. Since Covid it's been the mainstay of many a businesses communications network for staff who suddenly found themselves WFH or furloughed without access to their usual office/business internal comms network. Two years ago I hadn't even heard of it.

 

[Bandaman]

Because it's a cross-platform encrypted messaging service that works well on PCs, Macs, Android and iOS. Since Covid it's been the mainstay of many a businesses communications network for staff who suddenly found themselves WFH or furloughed without access to their usual office/business internal comms network. Two years ago I hadn't even heard of it.

Yes... "encrypted" ... from Facebook. I'm sure we can trust them on that. Telegram is a much better alternative and a lot of people are flocking to it.

 

[jlc1978]

Yes... "encrypted" ... from Facebook. I'm sure we can trust them on that. Telegram is a much better alternative and a lot of people are flocking to it.

True, but the ubiquity of What's App makes it the go to solution. I use What's App because that's what my clients use; getting them to change to another app is simply not in the cards.

 

[BootsWalking]

Zuck: I have over 4,000 emails, pictures, addresses, SNS
[Redacted Friend's Name]: What? How'd you manage that one?
Zuck: People just submitted it.
Zuck: I don't know why.
Zuck: They "trust me"
Zuck: Dumb f****.

Source: https://www.esquire.com/uk/latest-n...led-people-who-handed-over-their-data-dumb-f/

 

[kstotlani]

Yes... "encrypted" ... from Facebook. I'm sure we can trust them on that. Telegram is a much better alternative and a lot of people are flocking to it.

Telegram isn’t encrypted by default. You have to do that with each chat and is quite painful.

 

[imdropbear]

I still don't understand why anyone uses this Facebook garbage.

It's actually very easy to understand. They simply were the first big messaging app that worked on iOS, Android and Windows Phone (he, that was a thing). Especially over in Europe, where the portion of Android phones was historically much larger, people couldn't use iMessages.

Nowadays there are plenty, better alternatives but due to the nature of a messaging app (you want to use one app to reach everyone) it's hard to get people to switch. Nobody wants to switch because nobody uses other messaging apps because nobody is switching because ... you see where this is going?

 

[bf2008]

Sorry but default behaviour is that it automatically deletes older messages??? Who though this would be a good idea? Imagine if in any of your devices the default behaviour was that older files get deleted. Madness! Same with emails, default behaviour older emails get deleted?
This is crazy, they should change that to be default is NOT deleted.
Edit: or did I misunderstand it and what you can do it set up for all new chats to automatically delete older messages, but still, the default is that new chats won't delete older messages? That would make more sense.

 

[dvanwinkle]

Yes... "encrypted" ... from Facebook. I'm sure we can trust them on that. Telegram is a much better alternative and a lot of people are flocking to it.

I was right there with your line of thinking. Then I joined Facebook, and in particular WhatsApp. I know that you have no reason to trust me, but it’s really encrypted, and our servers collect the minimal amount of information to make the service work. We keep nothing else.

To take it a step further, every major change goes through a privacy review to ensue that we’re not storing any data that isn’t absolutely required.

So, why trust WhatsApp even though it’s from Meta over Telegram? We have dedicated employees to ensure that your data is safe. Do you think that there is a possible way that we can have the number of employees that we have and somehow not have it leaked that we’re actually doing evil things with your WhatsApp data?

Source: I’m a developer at WhatsApp

 

[svish]

Don't think making it a default option is a good idea.

 

[dvanwinkle]

Sorry but default behaviour is that it automatically deletes older messages??? Who though this would be a good idea? Imagine if in any of your devices the default behaviour was that older files get deleted. Madness! Same with emails, default behaviour older emails get deleted?
This is crazy, they should change that to be default is NOT deleted.
Edit: or did I misunderstand it and what you can do it set up for all new chats to automatically delete older messages, but still, the default is that new chats won't delete older messages? That would make more sense.

It’s an option to turn it on by default. It’s not by default turned on.

 

[SW3029]

Because it's a cross-platform encrypted messaging service that works well on PCs, Macs, Android and iOS. Since Covid it's been the mainstay of many a businesses communications network for staff who suddenly found themselves WFH or furloughed without access to their usual office/business internal comms network. Two years ago I hadn't even heard of it.

All this is true. But all this is also true for Signal. And Signal holds so much less data about you.

 

[CARIB_APPLE]

Don't think making it a default option is a good idea.

It's only by default if you choose to. Prior you had to set each message individually, now if you choose to you can have any new messages auto delete. You still have to manual turn on the feature.

 

[mansplains]

I was hoping some branding would change when FB bought Whatsapp, I never understood the name.. 'what app should I download?' 'what [poor] sap is gonna download that'

 

[nebulosan]

I was hoping some branding would change when FB bought Whatsapp, I never understood the name.. 'what app should I download?' 'what [poor] sap is gonna download that'

What's up?

 

[LivingMyBeachLife]

End-to-End encryption and What'sApp should not be used in the same sentence. If you want end-to-end encryption, use apps like Signal.

 

[MajorFubar]

Yes... "encrypted" ... from Facebook. I'm sure we can trust them on that. Telegram is a much better alternative and a lot of people are flocking to it.

It didn't mean to imply WhatsApp was without fault, just the reason why people use it. And as imdropbear said perhaps better than me, they were the first big cross-platform conversation app, which either by clever marketing or other reason, people won't switch from because of the catch-22 situation. Case in point, I did a quick lunchtime survey of how many staff in my office were using Telegram or Signal (both of which I'd never heard of) and how many had WhatasApp or something else. Of the ten people I asked, all had WhatsApp on their phone, seven also have FB Messenger, no one had Signal or Telegram nor had any of them heard of those apps.

 

[MacCheetah3]

I know that you have no reason to trust me, but it’s really encrypted, and our servers collect the minimal amount of information to make the service work. We keep nothing else.

To take it a step further, every major change goes through a privacy review to ensue that we’re not storing any data that isn’t absolutely required.

...

Source: I’m a developer at WhatsApp

And that’s the key point — no pun intended.

https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/privacy/what-is-end-to-end-encryption/

E2EE keeps messages secure in transit (as they pass from one person to another). But it does not protect messages once they reach their destination.

In Apple’s case:

Apple's iMessage Is Secure ... Unless You Have iCloud Enabled

Apple's iMessage isn't as private as you might think. There's a big hole in Apple's end-to-end encryption scheme, and it's called iCloud.

www.howtogeek.com

Apple makes this very confusing, but it’s spelled out most clearly on Apple’s iCloud Security Overview page:

Messages in iCloud also uses end-to-end encryption. If you have iCloud Backup turned on, your backup includes a copy of the key protecting your Messages. This ensures you can recover your Messages if you lose access to iCloud Keychain and your trusted devices. When you turn off iCloud Backup, a new key is generated on your device to protect future messages and isn’t stored by Apple.

Here’s a quick summary of what the various combinations of settings do:

• iCloud Backup Enabled, Messages in iCloud Enabled: Apple will store your iCloud messages on its servers in an end-to-end encrypted manner. However, the encryption key will be uploaded as part of the iCloud backup, giving Apple access to your messages.
• iCloud Backup Enabled, Messages in iCloud Disabled: With Messages in iCloud disabled, Apple will upload a copy of your messages as part of your iCloud backup instead.
• iCloud Backup Disabled, Messages in iCloud Enabled: Apple will store your iCloud messages on its servers in a secure, end-to-end encrypted manner. The key to them will not be uploaded to Apple’s servers.

One of the other comforting aspects of software applications such as Signal and Telegram is easier review (i.e., they’re open source)

Signal

Signal has 113 repositories available. Follow their code on GitHub.

github.com

Reproducible Builds for iOS and Android

This page contains instructions for verifying that Telegram's open source code is exactly the same as the code that is used…

core.telegram.org

Other related articles:

WhatsApp's Signal Protocol integration is now complete

At Open Whisper Systems, our goal is to make private communication simple. A year ago, we announced a partnership with WhatsApp and committed to integrating the Signal Protocol into their product, moving towards full end-to-end encryption for all of their users by default. Over the past year, we...

signal.org

Telegram vs Signal: Which is More Secure and Private App - TechWiser

Learn who wins and which is more private and secure in this epic Telegram vs Signal guide where we look at what happens behind the scenes.

techwiser.com

P.S. I’ve never used WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal nor expect to. Although, as already mentioned in this thread, one never knows with employment requirements, etc.

 

[jlc1978]

The old adage applies here:
Two people can keep a secret if one is dead.

No service is 100% secure.

 

[Bandaman]

True, but the ubiquity of What's App makes it the go to solution. I use What's App because that's what my clients use; getting them to change to another app is simply not in the cards.

Yes, getting people to change is the hard part.

 

[Bandaman]

I was right there with your line of thinking. Then I joined Facebook, and in particular WhatsApp. I know that you have no reason to trust me, but it’s really encrypted, and our servers collect the minimal amount of information to make the service work. We keep nothing else.

To take it a step further, every major change goes through a privacy review to ensue that we’re not storing any data that isn’t absolutely required.

So, why trust WhatsApp even though it’s from Meta over Telegram? We have dedicated employees to ensure that your data is safe. Do you think that there is a possible way that we can have the number of employees that we have and somehow not have it leaked that we’re actually doing evil things with your WhatsApp data?

Source: I’m a developer at WhatsApp

Because Telegram is open source. Facebook/Meta has literally no basis for trust and has yet to show any basis for trust and continues to show no basis for trust. I don't believe you are a liar by any means. I believe that you believe what you are saying. But I don't think you are capable, even in your position, to see the entire scope of what's going. It's believing that Facebook is capable of what you are saying is a hard pill to swallow.

 

[Bandaman]

Telegram isn’t encrypted by default. You have to do that with each chat and is quite painful.

Yes, but what isn't encrypted is scattered across multiple sources, which obfuscates any chance of it being put together in any meaningful fashion that is identifiable. The encryption just adds another layer of security. You also have the option of deleting a conversation on both ends whenever you choose, which is nice.