It has been a year since WhatsApp rolled out Disappearing Messages; the service is now working on a new feature that will allow the users to send images that will self-destruct and disappear for both parties pre-defined time.

The Disappearing Images Feature on WhatsApp Will Make the App More Secure for Sensitive Media

The information is being shared by WABetaInfo, a reliable source for WhatsApp information, and they have recently spotted the upcoming feature and shared the screenshots that you can see below.

As one can see from the screenshots, the feature will bring a new toggle next to the text box in the image preview window. Tapping that toggle will bring up a toast that says, "This media will disappear once you leave this chat.".Users will then be able to share the image, and it will automatically disappear as soon as they leave the chat. Those who receive a self-destructing image will also be alerted in advance. Upon receiving such an image, they will receive a similar message.

WABetaInfo further talks about that WhatsApp is not going to allow the users to export self-destructing images. However, WhatsApp has not added any measures to prevent recipients from taking a screenshot of the image sent; It is also not going to alert the sender if the recipient has taken a screenshot of the image. This feature, at the moment, feels half-baked, and this implementation does not look very useful. Of course, it is still not out yet; we might see WhatsApp make changes to it.

However, it is important to know that WhatsApp still has not added any feature that notifies or alerts others when someone takes a screenshot of a disappearing message, so seeing such a feature for disappearing images is unlikely. Still, it is too early to say anything.

Whatever the case might be, WhatsApp adding this feature is a step in the right direction and will definitely make things easier for many users. We are waiting to see if this feature gets more polished as it heads closer to the official release. The feature is going to make its way to both the Android and iOS version of WhatsApp