WhatsApp is reportedly working on a feature called as Expiring Media for self-destructing images, videos, and GIFs.
This is not something new, Reports are going around that WhatsApp is testing this feature for a couple of months now. WhatsApp is trying to add an expiry time to messages you send to people. Not all the messages obviously. You will select them.
This is somewhat like Snapchat where images and videos and text(only once) can be seen only twice and gets disappeared after that. WhatsApp is also working on expiring media, not text.
in July, WhatsApp started testing this feature in version 2.20.197.4 beta and introduced some UI improvements that replaced the expiration time options with a universal seven-day timer. While the feature is yet to make its way to the stable channel, WhatsApp has now started testing a similar expiring media option on Android.
According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp has released the version 2.20.201.1 beta on Android and the latest release does have the new expiring media feature. There will be a timer attached to the message you send using such feature. When you select the timer and set the time it will turn green.
The UI of normal media and the media sent using this feature would be different. This would help the users to know which media is expirable. The expiring media won’t be replaced with a message like “This media has expired” either, leaving no trace whatsoever.
According to the testers, there is no evidence of prevention of Screenshot or a screenshot detection. Snapchat has this feature where if you screenshot any chat, it gets displayed on the chat screen. If there is no screenshot detector, then there is no use of this feature actually. Because anyone can screenshot the media you sent and then use or see it later. So WhatsApp must consider adding that.
Currently, WhatsApp has released no official information about the expiring media feature and no info regarding a release timeline. So it’s all news and rumors. You will surely get to know when the official statement comes out, right here.