WhatsApp has been working on quite a number of new interesting features of which some are expected to reach the platform in 2020 and others to arrive later in 2021. Amongst these new features, WhatsApp announced it will be rolling out two of its most anticipated features, the disappearing message feature, and WhatsApp Pay.
The two new feature has been in development and beta testing for months now and WhatsApp is finally rolling out to users globally in coming weeks. The WhatsApp Pay feature, however, is only reaching the Indian market for now and will expand to more region in coming weeks.
Disappearing Messages:
We’ve discussed the disappearing message feature quite a number of time here. For those who still have an idea on how it works, once you activate the option for a group chat or private chat, all messages sent after activation will be deleted from your phone and server-side (only the messages you’ve sent) after a period of 7 days.
How to Turn On Disappearing Messages
- Tap on the contact you want to activate the feature for
- Next, tap on the contact name to open up his/her profile
- You’ll find the new disappearing message option on the screen
- Select ‘on’ to activate the disappearing messages feature.
- For group message, on the other hand, only group admins can toggle the option.
WhatsApp Payment
WhatsApp Pay was first introduced in June 2020, a payment channel to allow users securely send and receive funds from friends, family, and businesses. It was first available in Brazil and now rolling out to India users.
WhatsApp partnered with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) using the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) to deliver the payment features to its Indian users, and support over 160 banks in the country.
For Indian users to be able to use this new feature, they’re required to have a bank account and debit card as WhatsApp will need to send instructions to banks, also known as payment service providers, in order to initiate the transfer of money via UPI between sender and receiver bank accounts.
Other features we’re looking forward to have soon are linked device and in-app browser. What are your thoughts on this new developments? Tell us in the comment section below.