What Is Meant by Disappearing Messages Were Turned off in WhatsApp

Have you received a message saying “ a contact has disabled disappearing messages ” in WhatsApp? Now you must be wondering what are disappearing messages in WhatsApp and what does this alert mean? The disappearance of messages is the new feature of WhatsApp. Let’s check in detail what the message “ Missing messages have been disabled ” means in WhatsApp.

We will talk about what disappearing messages are in WhatsApp, the meaning of the “ Disappearing messages have been disabled ” alert message, what happens when disabling disappearing messages and how to enable or disable disappearing messages in this message.

Let’s start.

What messages disappear in WhatsApp

If WhatsApp’s fleeting status wasn’t enough, Facebook launched another similar feature on WhatsApp called Missing Messages. The feature works for individual and group chats. Recently, Facebook added a feature of disappearing messages in all of its apps. Facebook Messenger and Instagram have disappearance mode where messages self-destruct after a specific time. Likewise, WhatsApp has received the feature of missing messages.

Basically, when disappearance messages are enabled in a personal or group chat, messages sent until the feature is disabled automatically disappear from the chat after seven days, as does WhatsApp status which disappears after 24 hours.

What does the “ Missing messages have been disabled ” alert mean

Basically, when a user activates the disappearance of messages in the chat, WhatsApp notifies the chat participants by showing an alert message in the chat. They will see “ activated, the messages disappear ”.

Likewise, when disappearance messages are turned off, WhatsApp notifies again in the chat of the development. That’s why you see “ disabled the disappearance of messages “.

In a one-on-one chat, you or the other person can turn the Missed Messages feature on or off. Note that if you enable the feature, the other person can also disable it. Control therefore rests with all participants in a conversation. However, only group admins can enable or disable the feature in WhatsApp groups.

Thus, whoever activates or deactivates it, their name will be mentioned in the message that will appear in the chat. This is how WhatsApp notifies all participants of the change, and no one can take unfair advantage or pass on ignorance unless they are intentional.

What happens when disappearing messages are turned off

As mentioned above, when disappearance messages are enabled, messages sent during this period will be deleted automatically within 7 days. However, when you turn off disappearing messages, all text and media you share will continue to appear as normal messages. Any message that has been cited or forwarded will always appear.

The rules are slightly different for media received during the Message Disappearance period. Basically, if automatic media download is enabled in WhatsApp, the media is also saved to your gallery. Even if the media will be deleted from WhatsApp chat after 7 days of missing messages, it will not be deleted from your phone. You will need to manually delete it from your phone’s memory.

You can also turn off the automatic media download feature in WhatsApp. To do this, go to WhatsApp Settings> Storage and Data. You will find the Automatic Media Download section. Choose No Media under all available options or uncheck the boxes next to the available options depending on what is available.

How to enable or disable messages that disappear in personal and group chats

Enable or disable messages that disappear in individual chats

If someone has turned off disappearing messages, you can turn them back on if you want some messages to go away in the future.

To turn disappearance messages on or off, do the following:

Note: The screenshots are taken on an Android phone, but the steps are the same for the iPhone.

Step 1: Open the WhatsApp chat where you want to turn missing messages on or off.

2nd step: Tap the contact’s name at the top of the chat. Tap Missing messages.

Step 3: Check the box next to On or Off to enable or disable disappearance messages respectively.

Activate or deactivate messages that disappear in WhatsApp groups

Similar to other privileges enjoyed by the WhatsApp group administrator, they have the right to enable or disable messages that disappear in group chats. So open the WhatsApp group in which you want to turn missing messages on or off. Tap the group name at the top of the chat. Tap Disappearing messages and turn them on or off on the next screen.

The law on disappearance

This is how the new missing messages feature works and now you know what the alert message means. Disappearing messages, when enabled in a chat, will automatically disappear texts after seven days.

Even though the functionality seems safe and correct, it has some shortcomings. For example, messages in quotes will still appear, but the original text will disappear if sent when endangered messages were turned on. Likewise, anyone can take a screenshot of the message or copy and paste the message into a different app or service. You should therefore only use it with people you trust and avoid sharing sensitive information.