WhatsApp Kept Messages Feature for Saving Disappearing Chats Rolling Out to Beta Testers: Report

WhatsApp rolled out the disappearing messages feature in December 2021, allowing messages in a chat to automatically delete after a set period of time. In January 2023, it was reported that the Meta-owned instant messaging platform is working on another feature that will let users save messages in a disappearing chat. As per a new report, the feature, dubbed as “Kept Messages”, is now being rolled out to both Android and iOS users enrolled in WhatsApp beta programme. The feature is said to be limited to reach only a few beta testers as of now.

According to a report by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is currently rolling out the Kept Messages feature to allow users to keep messages from disappearing. Therefore, if a user has disappearing messages feature turned on in a conversation, the user on the receiving end can save those messages from being automatically deleted from the chat history.

The update with the Kept Messages feature is reportedly being rolled out to WhatsApp for iOS users running beta version iOS 23.0.4.75 and WhatsApp for Android users with beta version 2.23.4.18. However, it is being released only for limited beta testers. The feature may soon out to all WhatsApp users in a stable version with the coming updates.

The report has also shared a screenshot displaying how the feature will work. All disappearing messages, when turned on in a chat, can be preserved by selecting the “Keep” action. These messages will reportedly be marked with a bookmark icon. Users can access all such messages in the “kept messages” section.

However, it is not known yet if the feature will come with a limit on the number of disappearing messages that can be saved at a time, or the time frame to save these messages beyond their set limit by the sender.

To recall, WhatsApp rolled out the disappearing messages feature in December 2021, providing option to automatically delete messages in the one-on-one chats, once turned on. The app provided users with disappearing messages after a time frame of 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days.