Well, it seems like online security and privacy will soon become a bigger headache—not for you, but for the government. With WhatsApp adding the 256-bit encryption, and Viber following suite, security of private messages seems to be the next requirement. Apple battled the FBI over the same issue where breaking through the users’ privacy was a big concern. And now, The Indian Government is also having issues with snooping the user’s chat conversations on WhatsApp.
However, it seems like Facebook has no concerns about the government policies in different countries and is just concentrating on the user’s privacy for now. A new leaked information about the next version update of Facebook’s Messenger seems to be floating around. Facebook Messenger is said to implementing the self-destructing messaging feature which will allow users to delete sensitive messages after they are viewed. Similar to Snapchat, the messages can automatically erase themselves from the recipient’s device and leave no trace in the history. The feature is great for those who keep sending sensitive messages such as bank account numbers, account details, passwords, and a lot more.
The screenshot shared by iOSAppChanges on Twitter gives out the information that Facebook Messenger is receiving such new feature updates. As for now it is hard to tell if the screenshot is authentic, however, the user could be possibly holding a development/test app which has the said feature.
More screenshots about disappearing messages (and shared links section).
— iOSAppChanges (@iOSAppChanges) May 1, 2016
Thanks @Geek_Break.@WABetaInfo #Messenger pic.twitter.com/MDWjsqdhID
#Messenger disappearing messages feature (68.0 iOS version) @WABetaInfo pic.twitter.com/dPSCyuNeoF
— iOSAppChanges (@iOSAppChanges) May 1, 2016
The screenshot that was shared on Twitter also describes that the message will destruct after 15 minutes of being sent, provided you enable the feature. The screenshot seen is on an iOS device, which could mean that Apple users could be the first to avail of this feature. However, there is no confirmation about when this feature will be released to public.
As for now, going by the way Facebook Messenger is planning on implementing self-destructive messages, it could be soon that WhatsApp also implements the same feature.
