WhatsApp may soon enable users to save disappearing messages. The Meta-owned instant messaging platform is reportedly working on a feature called “kept messages” that will allow anyone to temporarily save a fleeting disappearing chat and keep it as is (for everyone), even if the message has expired. A kept message is shown to have its own visual cue to differentiate it from other chats. Disappearing messages are ones that users can choose to send to other users with a time limit after which they are deleted automatically from all connected devices.

WABetaInfo, a WhatsApp feature and update tracker website, has spotted yet another feature in development that may give users more control over these disappearing messages. The kept messages will not be deleted automatically from the chat and will continue to appear to all users even after their expiration date. Users can, however, choose to un-keep them at any time, and the chats will then be deleted for everyone. Messages that are saved will reportedly have their own bookmark icon to distinguish them from other chats.

The feature’s availability remains unknown, as the report states that it is “currently in development and is not yet ready for release to beta testers,” adding that “WhatsApp is working on bringing this feature to a future update of the app.”

WhatsApp’s ‘Kept messages’ spotted in development
Photo Credit: WABetaInfo

WhatsApp’s disappearing messages feature, which debuted in 2021, is inspired by apps like Snapchat and allows users to chat more discreetly. However, unlike Snapchat, messages on WhatsApp are protected by end-to-end encryption. Users can also delete messages from a recipient’s device after they have been sent. Users have the option of specifying who these messages can be deleted for — specifically for themselves (delete for me) or for everyone (delete for everyone).

Accidental delete was recently added as a new feature on the app. If a user hit ​Delete for me when they meant to delete the chat for everyone., the accidental delete feature helps users by providing them with a five-second window to overturn the accidental message delete and click on Delete for everyone.