Instagram is reportedly working on a “disappearing messages” feature, adding to the long list of features it has borrowed from its sibling Snapchat. The feature works in a way that the messages in a chat window are retained as long as the particular window is open. Once the user leaves the chat, the messages automatically disappear.
The hidden feature was discovered by reverse engineering expert Jane Manchun Wong, who demonstrated how the feature worked on her twitter handle. The feature was later confirmed by Instagram via a reply to her post.
Instagram is working on “🙊 mode” where messages disappear
It seems to be in an early barebone version but I tried my best to demonstrate how it might work pic.twitter.com/ZrUZZj0TWo
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) March 19, 2020
“We’re always exploring new features to improve your messaging experience. This feature is still in early development and not testing externally just yet,” Instagram said.
The move could push the Instagram user base even higher, considering it had experienced similar success after it introduced the “stories” feature, another feature native to Snapchat. The number of daily users for Instagram stories was reported as 500 Million compared to 218 Million on Snapchat.
Whatsapp, another social platform owned by Facebook, has also been working on a similar feature for a while now. The feature is reportedly more advanced than the one on Instagram, allowing users to decide as to when they want the messages to be deleted after they leave the chat.
While some people may be fond of having similar functionalities across multiple social apps, it is always good to have diversification in life. Sadly, that has not been the case ever since Facebook acquired both Whatsapp and Instagram.
