Messaging service WhatsApp on Friday announced a new feature that allows users to keep important messages they'd like to come back to in the future after a beta testing period, with or without the disappearing messages setting enabled.
The new feature is called (Keep Chat) Once a message is saved, it will appear to everyone in the chat and will not disappear when its duration expires. All your saved messages will appear in the order in which chat messages are saved in the chat settings. Folder called (Saved Messages).
The slogan with which WhatsApp introduced this feature is (Sender Superpower) because the sender has full control over this feature. When someone saves a message, a notification reaches the sender, and the sender has the option to accept or decline the save. If you decide the sender refuses to save the message and no one else in the chat can save it.
If the sender refuses to keep the message, it will be automatically deleted after the deadline. This way the sender has the final say on how to protect the messages they send if (until the messages disappear) they are to be opened in the conversation.
How to save auto-disappearing messages on WhatsApp:
- Go to the conversation where you want to keep the existing message.
- Press and hold on the message you want to keep, then tap the bookmark icon at the top of the conversation.
- The sender of the message will be notified that you want to save it, and if they agree, the message will be saved in your Saved Messages folder for future reference. Your saved messages stay in the conversation too, so everyone can continue reading them.
To access your saved messages:
- Go to the conversation where you saved the message.
- In the top right, tap the name of the person or group you want to message to access their settings page.
- Scroll down until you get to the Keep Messages option. Then click on it and you will see the recorded message.
To resume messages:
From the day you decide to keep the message on hold, you have 30 days to appeal it by following these steps:
- Go to the WhatsApp conversation where you saved the message.
- Long press on the message you want to resume.
- Click on the bookmark icon that appears at the top of the conversation and click on the OK option.
WhatsApp has already started rolling out the feature in some countries and will roll it out globally in the coming weeks. So if you don't see it in your app right now, please be patient.