WhatsApp Users Can Now Save Disappearing Messages If the Sender Consents - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

WhatsApp Users Can Now Save Disappearing Messages If the Sender Consents

WhatsApp has announced a new option for disappearing messages conversations that lets recipients keep individual messages if the sender approves the request.

whatsapp save disappearing message
"Keep in Chat" enables users to long press a disappearing message and ask to keep it, which sends a notification to the sender: "Someone kept your message so they can refer back to it." The sender can then either allow the save to go ahead or veto the request.

From WhatsApp's blog post:

Today we're introducing "Keep in Chat," so you can hang on to texts you need for later, with a special superpower for the sender. We believe if you've sent the message, it's your choice whether others in the chat can keep it for later.

WhatsApp says that if a user decides their message can't be kept by others, their decision is final – no one else can keep it and the message will be deleted when the timer expires.

If a recipient asks to save a disappearing message and the sender allows it, the message gets a bookmark icon to indicate that it can be found in the user's kept messages folder, which is organized by chat.

WhatsApp says the feature is rolling out globally in the next few weeks.

Popular Stories

Whatsapp Feature

WhatsApp Now Lets You Reserve a Username

Monday June 29, 2026 4:01 pm PDT by
Popular messaging app WhatsApp is now allowing users to reserve usernames ahead of plans to launch username-based messaging. Right now, WhatsApp uses a person's phone number as an identifier, but usernames will allow people to interact without having to exchange personal information. Username reservations are rolling out starting this week, and not all users will have access to the...
Whatsapp Feature

WhatsApp Beta Adds Green Dot to Show Who's Online

Monday July 6, 2026 3:56 am PDT by
WhatsApp appears to be introducing a new visual indicator that shows when a contact is online, according to WaBetaInfo. The feature adds a small green circle to a contact's profile photo when they're active in the app, and which disappears the moment they leave, all updated in real time. The indicator is now being tested for the WhatsApp iPhone app in TestFlight after it debuted on Android...
Whatsapp Feature

WhatsApp Beta Reveals iCloud Backup Alternative for iPhone

Tuesday July 14, 2026 3:06 am PDT by
WhatsApp is developing a first-party cloud storage option for chat backups on iPhone, providing users with an alternative to iCloud for the first time, according to app tinkerer WABetaInfo. Code found in the WhatsApp beta for iOS (version 26.28.10.16), available through TestFlight, suggests that users will eventually be able to pick their preferred backup destination directly from the app's...

Top Rated Comments

iLondoner Avatar
43 months ago
What would be more useful is the ability to reject disappearing messages, and tell the originator to either send a proper message or not at all.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
klasma Avatar
43 months ago
I’m just trying to imagine the MacRumors forums with disappearing messages.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
43 months ago
Will definitely be useful for many
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
scuac Avatar
43 months ago
Can you just take a screenshot?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
43 months ago

What would be more useful is the ability to reject disappearing messages, and tell the originator to either send a proper message or not at all.
I totally agree with you on that.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Contact_Feanor Avatar
43 months ago

Never heard of an app blocking a built-in iOS feature like that.
try screen recording or even screenshotting in Netflix :)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)