Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      MTN CEO edges Vodacom rival in pay stakes – but just barely

      18 June 2025

      New MD for Dell South Africa

      18 June 2025

      How a dowdy database maker became an investor darling

      18 June 2025

      Who let the dogs order? Sixty60 now delivers for Fido

      18 June 2025

      Chief sub-editor wanted – help shape South African tech media

      18 June 2025
    • World

      Trump Mobile dials into politics, profit and patriarchy

      17 June 2025

      Samsung plots health data hub to link users and doctors in real time

      17 June 2025

      Beijing’s chip champions blacklisted by Taiwan

      16 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025

      Yahoo tries to make its mail service relevant again

      13 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | AfriGIS’s Helen Hulett on how tech can help resolve South Africa’s water crisis

      18 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E2: South Africa’s digital battlefield

      16 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025
    • Opinion

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » News » New WhatsApp feature launched: Disappearing messages

    New WhatsApp feature launched: Disappearing messages

    By Agency Staff5 November 2020
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    Facebook’s WhatsApp will roll out disappearing messages to users this month, which will delete posts in a chat after seven days, mirroring rival platforms such as Signal.

    The function should help “the conversation feel lighter and more private”, Facebook said in a statement on Thursday. For employers attempting to monitor record numbers of staff working from home, the app’s new feature may make it even more difficult to police communications.

    Financial services businesses, such as banks and trading firms, have been struggling to rein in employees who use these private lines, which are encrypted end-to-end, for inappropriate conversations that include everything from offensive content to insider information.

    Financial services businesses, such as banks and trading firms, have been struggling to rein in employees who use these private lines

    In March, a Jefferies Group banker was fined in the UK for sharing confidential data on WhatsApp and a month later JPMorgan Chase & Co punished more than a dozen traders for WhatsApp use and fired one. Last month, two senior commodities executives at Morgan Stanley left after compliance breaches linked to this type of communications tool.

    Facebook has been introducing more disappearing posting options to users across its various social networks. Made popular by Snap, which lets users send photos and videos that vanish after they’re opened, the features are a response to customers’ privacy concerns. Twitter also began testing disappearing posts called “fleets” earlier this year.

    Rivals Signal

    The development moves WhatsApp closer to rivals such as Signal, a messaging app endorsed by whistle-blower and privacy advocate Edward Snowden, which gives users the option to send timed messages that delete after a predetermined period of time, sometimes seven days.

    Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg hinted at the developments when he said last year that the company’s focus would be on encrypted, private and ephemeral communications. Instagram’s Stories feature deletes posts after 24 hours.  — Reported by Amy Thomson, (c) 2020 Bloomberg LP



    Facebook Mark Zuckerberg Signal Snap top WhatsApp
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleDatatec’s Logicalis unit buys majority stake in iZeno
    Next Article Inside the chaotic unravelling of Jack Ma’s $35-billion Ant IPO

    Related Posts

    Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

    17 June 2025

    Zuckerberg bets big on artificial general intelligence

    10 June 2025

    FlySafair now accepts flight bookings via AI

    9 June 2025
    Company News

    Disrupt first, ask questions later – the uncomfortable truth about incident response

    18 June 2025

    Sage brings together HR leaders to explore the future of payroll and people management

    18 June 2025

    Altron: a brand journey, a birthday celebration and a bet on Joburg’s future

    17 June 2025
    Opinion

    South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

    17 June 2025

    AI and the future of ICT distribution

    16 June 2025

    Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

    13 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.