Viber is boosting its privacy by making its disappearing messages feature available in all chats – not just secret chats.
Viber has grown into a messaging app with over 1 billion users worldwide and is expanding on its commitment to privacy by bringing disappearing messages to all chats. Disappearing messages – launched back in 2017 as part of the app’s “secret” chats experience – was previously only available in secret chats.
From early May 2020, users on Viber will be able to set a timer when sending text, photo, video, or other types of files, for the automatic deletion of the content. The countdown can last anywhere from a few seconds to minutes, hours, or even days – and begins immediately after the recipient sees the sent message.
Disappearing messages in 1×1 chats strengthen Viber’s position as a leader in secure messaging, but the app has always shown ample commitment to safety and privacy. Before most other platforms, it released a “delete message” feature for all chats back in 2015, default end-to-end encryption in 2016, and hidden & secret chats back in 2017.
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“We are proud to announce the disappearing messages feature launching in all 1-on-1 chats,” explains Ofir Eyal, Viber’s COO.
“Introduced by Viber in 2017 as part of the “secret” chats experience, over time we became convinced that a similar measure of ensuring confidentiality, including sending a notification when the recipient takes a screenshot of the disappearing message, should be added to regular chats.”
How To Create Disappearing Messages On Viber
To create a disappearing message on Viber, a user will need to:
- Tap the clock icon on the bottom of the chat and select the disappearance period for the message.
- Type and send a message to the recipient.