WABetaInfo, the famous platform that tracks and unveils hidden and upcoming WhatsApp features has recently spotted an interesting new feature that WhatsApp seems to be working on these days. This feature is called ‘Expiring Media,’ and it seems to be an extension of the ‘Expiring Messages’ feature that WABetaInfo reported about some time back.
Expiring Media feature will make media files, like photos, videos, and animated GIFs disappear from a recipient’s phone once the recipient leaves a chat window. It is somewhat like sending media messages over WhatsApp temporarily.
Media files are shared quite frequently amongst people over WhatsApp. However, not many of us immediately delete those files, and as a result, they keep piling in our phone’s gallery and other storage places for a long time. We even forget about them most of the time, but they just keep adding and occupying our phone’s space.
This new feature is going to be helpful for many people because this is a common problem that a lot of users have to go through. Time and again, users have to go through their media gallery in their phones to delete media files because of phone storage issues. No matter how much storage the phone or the accessory memory card has, there always comes a time when people have to sit through and skim through all the media files and delete them one by one. That is an extremely tedious task and with this new feature, there will be no chance of unnecessary storing of data on the phone.
This new feature has not come to the beta versions as yet. But WABetaInfo managed to share some screenshots showing how this feature would be like once it gets on board. By the looks of it, it seems that the feature will come with a dedicated timer button. Users will have to tap that button after they download a media file in a chat window. By tapping on the timer, the expiration process will be enabled for that selected media file.
Also, all the images and videos that will have the 'Expiring media' feature enabled on them will disappear as soon as the recipient leaves the chat window. A timer icon will constantly be attached with these enabled media files to keep reminding the recipients that the file will delete immediately as they leave the chat window. This will probably give them time to see whether it is some important media file and if they want to keep it for a longer time or get rid of it immediately.
WABetaInfo says that this feature is currently undergoing the initial development phase for Android, but WhatsApp may bring it eventually for iOS as well.
It is not sure when Expiring Media and Expiring Messages features will come on the stable channel.
Read next: WhatsApp’s new multiple device support functionality is in the final stages of development
Expiring Media feature will make media files, like photos, videos, and animated GIFs disappear from a recipient’s phone once the recipient leaves a chat window. It is somewhat like sending media messages over WhatsApp temporarily.
Media files are shared quite frequently amongst people over WhatsApp. However, not many of us immediately delete those files, and as a result, they keep piling in our phone’s gallery and other storage places for a long time. We even forget about them most of the time, but they just keep adding and occupying our phone’s space.
This new feature is going to be helpful for many people because this is a common problem that a lot of users have to go through. Time and again, users have to go through their media gallery in their phones to delete media files because of phone storage issues. No matter how much storage the phone or the accessory memory card has, there always comes a time when people have to sit through and skim through all the media files and delete them one by one. That is an extremely tedious task and with this new feature, there will be no chance of unnecessary storing of data on the phone.
This new feature has not come to the beta versions as yet. But WABetaInfo managed to share some screenshots showing how this feature would be like once it gets on board. By the looks of it, it seems that the feature will come with a dedicated timer button. Users will have to tap that button after they download a media file in a chat window. By tapping on the timer, the expiration process will be enabled for that selected media file.
Also, all the images and videos that will have the 'Expiring media' feature enabled on them will disappear as soon as the recipient leaves the chat window. A timer icon will constantly be attached with these enabled media files to keep reminding the recipients that the file will delete immediately as they leave the chat window. This will probably give them time to see whether it is some important media file and if they want to keep it for a longer time or get rid of it immediately.
WABetaInfo says that this feature is currently undergoing the initial development phase for Android, but WhatsApp may bring it eventually for iOS as well.
It is not sure when Expiring Media and Expiring Messages features will come on the stable channel.
Read next: WhatsApp’s new multiple device support functionality is in the final stages of development
