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WhatsApp said today it will introduce the ability to send disappearing messages, a novelty with which the Facebook-owned application raises the stakes to compete with the Snapchat social network.
The messaging service used by more than two billion people around the world said it will allow users to choose to keep the messages they send or have them self-destruct after seven days.
“Today, WhatsApp messages often stay on our phones forever. While it’s great to preserve the memories of friends and family, most of what we send doesn’t have to be forever,” a blog post said. of WhatsApp.
“Our goal is to make conversations on WhatsApp as similar as possible to conversations in person, which means they shouldn’t stay forever. That’s why we’re excited to introduce the option to use disappearing messages on WhatsApp.” added.
Facebook previously introduced a similar option for its Messenger platform, following in the footsteps of Snapchat, which has a large number of young users.
WhatsApp has chosen a seven-day window “because we believe it offers the peace of mind that conversations are not permanent, and at the same time remains practical so as not to forget what we were talking about,” the text said.
“The shopping list or store address you received a few days ago will stay there for as long as you need it and then disappear when you don’t.”
The move comes as Facebook’s main platform is losing ground among younger audiences to rivals like Snapchat and TikTok, even as Instagram, also owned by Facebook, continues to grow in that demographic.
Last month, a Piper Jaffay company survey of American teenagers showed that Snapchat is their favorite social network and that TikTok topped Instagram in second place.
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