New 'Vanish Mode' in Messenger and Instagram Enables Disappearing Chats

Facebook's Messenger and Instagram apps are getting a new "vanish mode" feature that gives users a new way to chat using disappearing messages.

messenger disappearing messages
Disappearing messages can already be used in Messenger's "secret conversation" feature, but they require several steps and users have to set a timer to make the messages disappear.

However, the new "vanish mode" is enabled by simply swiping up in a chat, after which messages disappear after they're seen, and if the recipient takes a screenshot of the conversation, the sender will be notified.

Accessing the new mode in Instagram requires that users accept Facebook's offer to integrate Messenger features into Instagram's in-app chat.

Facebook recently rolled out a new disappearing messages feature to all WhatsApp users on iOS and Android, allowing messages, photos, and videos to be marked to disappear after seven days.

Vanish mode is available to Messenger users in the U.S. now and Facebook says the feature will expand to additional countries, and to Instagram, "soon."

(Via Engadget.)

Top Rated Comments

djcerla Avatar
45 months ago
On my phone, Facebook is in Vanish Mode since 2017.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
brett_x Avatar
45 months ago
"Vanish".. well for end users anyway. I'm sure Facebook keeps the data for themselves (and their advertisers).
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sebosz Avatar
45 months ago
It’s 2020 and people still feel the irresistible need to inform everybody that they don’t use/hate Facebook whenever it’s mentioned? Okay, we get it, you’re so cool and safe.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TwoBytes Avatar
45 months ago
This should be relabelled vanished for the user, kept by Facebook.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
brett_x Avatar
45 months ago
This brings up a gripe of mine. Who's business is it if I take a screenshot on my phone? MINE and Nobody else's. Nobody should be informed if/when I take a screenshot. I'm really surprised Apple lets Facebook and others (I think Snapchat started this) to have this feature. I'm relatively sure it could be restricted through API's. It's a privacy thing, so Apple should take the lead.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PinkyMacGodess Avatar
45 months ago

This should be relabelled vanished for the user, kept by Facebook.
I'm sure they wouldn't hesitate to use any of that treasure trove to embarrass or threaten a famous person they don't like.

Facebook was started by an immature college student to shame and punish people in his clique they didn't like. It really hasn't grown up from that infantile start. Zuckerberg needs to go. I've been involved with two 'mom and pop' companies that made it big. They reach a point where the expansion is either stopped, or the company goes in a bad direction.

One company had to have a painful 'intervention' for the employees to wrest control of the company from an owner that kept sabotaging their merger process with a larger company.

Zuckerberg needs to step aside, or be pushed aside, for the good of the company and their users.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro FineWoven

Apple Reportedly Stops Production of FineWoven Accessories

Sunday April 21, 2024 6:03 am PDT by
Apple has stopped production of FineWoven accessories, according to the Apple leaker and prototype collector known as "Kosutami." In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kosutami explained that Apple has stopped production of FineWoven accessories due to its poor durability. The company may move to another non-leather material for its premium accessories in the future. Kosutami has revealed...
Provenance Emulator

PlayStation and SEGA Emulator for iPhone and Apple TV Coming to App Store [Updated]

Friday April 19, 2024 8:29 am PDT by
The lead developer of the multi-emulator app Provenance has told iMore that his team is working towards releasing the app on the App Store, but he did not provide a timeframe. Provenance is a frontend for many existing emulators, and it would allow iPhone and Apple TV users to emulate games released for a wide variety of classic game consoles, including the original PlayStation, GameCube, Wii,...
iOS 17 All New Features Thumb

iOS 17.5 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday April 21, 2024 3:00 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 17.5 update for the iPhone includes only a few new user-facing features, but hidden code changes reveal some additional possibilities. Below, we have recapped everything new in the iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5 beta so far. Web Distribution Starting with the second beta of iOS 17.5, eligible developers are able to distribute their iOS apps to iPhone users located in the EU...
apple vision pro orange

Apple Vision Pro Customer Interest Dying Down at Some Retail Stores

Monday April 22, 2024 2:12 am PDT by
Apple Vision Pro, Apple's $3,500 spatial computing device, appears to be following a pattern familiar to the AR/VR headset industry – initial enthusiasm giving way to a significant dip in sustained interest and usage. Since its debut in the U.S. in February 2024, excitement for the Apple Vision Pro has noticeably cooled, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On...
top stories 20apr2024

Top Stories: Nintendo Emulators on App Store, Two New iOS 17 Features, and More

Saturday April 20, 2024 6:00 am PDT by
It was a big week for retro gaming fans, as iPhone users are starting to reap the rewards of Apple's recent change to allow retro game emulators on the App Store. This week also saw a new iOS 17.5 beta that will support web-based app distribution in the EU, the debut of the first hotels to allow for direct AirPlay streaming to room TVs, a fresh rumor about the impending iPad Air update, and...