You Can Now Keep Messages in WhatsApp Disappearing Conversations

If you’re in a WhatsApp group chat where the disappearing messages feature is turned on, there’s now a way to keep some important chats, like an address or voice note someone sends you.

WhatsApp’s “Keep in Chat,” announced Friday, lets you bookmark messages sent to you, although veto power remains with the sender. 

“Anyone in a disappearing message thread can long press on a message to keep it,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained in his Instagram broadcast channel. “The sender will be notified if it was saved and can decide if it stays or remains a disappearing message.” 

Disappearing messages is a privacy measure that was announced at the end of 2020. Meta says it can also help declutter your phone and increase storage. 

It lets you set a timer for when messages in your WhatsApp chat will be deleted, with options for 24 hours, one week or 90 days. 

Here’s how to turn on disappearing messages:

1. Open your chat on WhatsApp.
2. Tap on the three vertical dots in the top right corner.
3. Select Disappearing messages.
4. Choose which message timer you want for when messages will automatically be deleted — 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days.
5. Hit the back arrow in the top left corner.

Once it’s on, here’s how to save a message:

1. Long press on the message you want to keep.
2. Tap the bookmark icon at the top of the screen, located next to the reply arrow.
3. The message sender will then be notified of your request to save that message, and will have the power to veto it.

If you don’t see the option in your WhatsApp chats yet, it’s because Meta is rolling the capability out over the next few weeks. 

Messages saved in WhatsApp will be put in a Kept Messages folder and organized by chat, the company said. 

Here’s more from CNET about three extra privacy features introduced to WhatsApp last year and a new Teams integration introduced earlier this month that makes WhatsApp better for work plans.