WhatsApp, just like many other messaging apps out there has a feature that lets users send messages that expire after a certain period of time. However, that doesn't include media. Now, the Facebook owned-company is testing a new feature that allow users to send media that expires automatically when the recipient leaves the chat.
According to WABetaInfo, the new feature which is called "Expiring Media" for now self-destruct media such as images, videos and GIFs sent to a contact. However, this feature defers a bit different from the expiring message feature.
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In the Expiring Message feature, sent messages expire after a period of time, while in the new Expiring Media feature all sent media will expire after the recipient leaves the chat. Also, the user interface for the expiring media looks much different from the standard one too.
Once the feature is activated, when sharing and adding media, the user will see a new icon next to the "Add media" button on the bottom right. Once the button is clicked, the media will be sent as expiring media.
When the media gets opened by the receiver, it will then completely disappear from the chat. For now, it isn't clear if there will be an indication or label to inform the receiver that the media has expired or not.
Also, we don't know if WhatsApp will allow end receivers to screenshot the media. If yes, will WhatsApp in some sort of way let sender know if the receiver made a screenshot of the sent media?
For now, the feature is still under testing and don't know when the feature will be ready for a wide rollout.