WhatsApp is changing the way the platform handles media sent over chats with disappearing messages enabled, reports WABetaInfo.
Going forward, WhatsApp will no longer automatically save images and other visual media to your iPhone’s Photos library if they appear within a chat thread that has disappearing messages turned on. The "Save to Camera Roll" option is now automatically turned off for disappearing chats, meaning images, videos, and GIFs won't be saved even if the general auto-save setting is enabled.
The previous default of saving images from disappearing chats to the Photos app was a discrepancy given the privacy focus of disappearing messages, so the change is likely to be welcomed by those who depend on the feature to share sensitive media.
Having said that, WhatsApp users can still manually save media that appears in disappearing chats they’ve received, or even take a screenshot of the chat thread, so what you send using the feature can still be potentially saved by the recipient after the message has disappeared.
In another change coming to WhatsApp and highlighted by WABetaInfo, the drawing interface is being tweaked so that the blur tool appears at the bottom of the screen, where it will sit alongside two new drawing pencils.
The change to the way WhatsApp handles media in disappearing messages is rolling out now to all users on iOS, but it’s not clear when the drawing interface tweaks will come out of beta and be made available to the chat platform’s wider user base.
Apple today released iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5, the fifth updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 come a little over a month after Apple released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. The iOS 18.5 update has a...
Apple today released tvOS 18.5, the latest version of the tvOS operating system. tvOS 18.5 comes a little over a month after the launch of tvOS 18.4, and it is available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD models.
tvOS 18.5 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the Apple TV. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the new software. Apple TV owners who have...
Apple is considering raising prices for its upcoming iPhone 17 models set to release this fall, according to people familiar with the matter cited by The Wall Street Journal.
The company reportedly aims to pair the potential price hikes with new features and design changes to justify the increased cost to consumers, rather than attributing them to U.S. tariffs on goods from China.
The...
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple is expected to release iOS 18.5 to the general public this week. While the software update is relatively minor, it still includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones.
Below, we recap everything new in iOS 18.5.
Pride Wallpaper
Apple recently announced its 2025 Pride Collection, including a new Apple Watch band, watch face,...
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.5, the fifth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched last September. macOS Sequoia 15.5 comes a little over a month after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.4.
Mac users can download the macOS Sequoia 15.5 update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run ...
Apple acquired Canadian startup Mayday Labs in April 2024, according to a European Commission listing, spotted by French blog MacGeneration. The acquisition had not received widespread attention from tech publications until now.
Apple is legally required to report certain acquisitions to the European Commission, under the terms of the EU's Digital Markets Act.
Mayday Labs founder Jeremy...
With Apple's developer conference where it will show off iOS 19 just a month away, the company is wrapping up work on iOS 18.5 ahead of an imminent release to deliver a few new features and updates.
This week also saw a number of iPhone-related rumors, encompassing not only this year's iPhone 17 lineup but also Apple's plans for 2026 and 2027, even as Apple's Eddy Cue suggested AI could make ...
This is an example of a privacy-friendly feature, though.
No it's not. It's not even remotely privacy oriented. I prefer to refer to it as digital flashing. For the disempowered at the receiving end it allows people to send stuff to them with no evidence that it was ever sent. For those who can take a screenshot on their phone, it completely removes the privacy stance of it. Thus it's stupid and it's not privacy friendly.
Apple needs to have a look at WhatsApp and steal how they handle attachments. It is such a mess on iMessage, especially with iCloud Messages enabled. I also hate how it doesn’t automatically save photos to the photo library (shared with you just isn’t the same).
I delete a photo right from the messaging app and it sometimes appears again after closing the app (or it just doesn’t let me delete it at all). I delete an image but somehow they still appear under iPhone storage, i delete all photos in iPhone storage yet it still shows photos in the messaging app. I delete every single photo but iCloud claims i have 3GB of iMessage attachments, yet there is NOTHING. Or I delete all iMessage photos on my iPhone but my Mac shows me images that do not appear for the same conversation on my iPad or iPhone whatsoever.
there isn’t even a button to remove all attachments at once! You literally have to tap on each individually because for some reason swipe to select doesn’t work either, unlike the photos app
You just tap to save the ones you want. I'm not sure what the issue is. Literally I don't want my photos library cluttered with every meme my kids send me. If you delete the conversation then the attachments go with it. I have about 6Gb in iMessage at the moment. It's mostly a non-issue for me as I've saved everything worth keeping as I go.
No it's not. It's not even remotely privacy oriented. I prefer to refer to it as digital flashing. For the disempowered at the receiving end it allows people to send stuff to them with no evidence that it was ever sent. For those who can take a screenshot on their phone, it completely removes the privacy stance of it. Thus it's stupid and it's not privacy friendly.
That's quite a cynical read. I imagine such scenarios happen, but "I want to share something but with a time limit" has tons and tons of users who aren't malicious like that at all; they really just want stuff to remain private.
Apple needs to have a look at WhatsApp and steal how they handle attachments. It is such a mess on iMessage, especially with iCloud Messages enabled. I also hate how it doesn’t automatically save photos to the photo library (shared with you just isn’t the same).
I delete a photo right from the messaging app and it sometimes appears again after closing the app (or it just doesn’t let me delete it at all). I delete an image but somehow they still appear under iPhone storage, i delete all photos in iPhone storage yet it still shows photos in the messaging app. I delete every single photo but iCloud claims i have 3GB of iMessage attachments, yet there is NOTHING. Or I delete all iMessage photos on my iPhone but my Mac shows me images that do not appear for the same conversation on my iPad or iPhone whatsoever.
there isn’t even a button to remove all attachments at once! You literally have to tap on each individually because for some reason swipe to select doesn’t work either, unlike the photos app
That's quite a cynical read. I imagine such scenarios happen, but "I want to share something but with a time limit" has tons and tons of users who aren't malicious like that at all; they really just want stuff to remain private.
I have a friend who gets self-expiring dick pictures at least once a week.
It enables those people somewhat.
There is no valid usage for "this message will self destruct" that I can think of.
