WhatsApp is releasing a new feature that allows users to keep messages from disappearing in order to prevent them from being automatically deleted from the chat history when the disappearing messages feature is turned on in a conversation. This update provides greater flexibility and control over disappearing messages and it is rolling out on the latest versions of WhatsApp beta for iOS and Android!
| Common questions | Answers |
|---|---|
| Name of the feature? | Kept messages |
| Status? | Rolling out |
| Compatibility? | WhatsApp beta for iOS 23.0.4.75 and WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.4.18 are marked as compatible updates. |
| I’ve updated my version of WhatsApp but I don’t have this feature. Why? | WhatsApp is releasing this feature to some beta testers. In case it is still not available for your WhatsApp account, please wait for a future update. |
| Thanks: | ismailhnd, Saadh Jawwadh, and Technical MJ TV, for testing and reporting! |
| How to join the community on WhatsApp? | WABetaInfo Community |
| Previous news? | WhatsApp beta for iOS 23.4.0.75: what’s new? WhatsApp is working on the ability to schedule group calls! |
In the article about the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.4.10 update, we announced that WhatsApp was releasing a new section within chat info: kept messages. In this section, all those messages would have been listed so users can easily find them later. Although WhatsApp made this section available to all beta testers on WhatsApp for Android, it was still not possible to use this feature as it was still not ready for use. Finally, WhatsApp is now introducing the ability to keep messages from disappearing to some beta testers that install the latest beta version of the app from the Play Store and the TestFlight app:
As you can see in this screenshot, you should be able to keep a message from disappearing in a conversation where disappearing messages are turned on. Thanks to this feature, it is now possible to prevent the expiration of certain disappearing messages by using the “Keep” action. All those messages are marked by using a bookmark icon within the chat bubble and they are listed within the section “kept messages”, which is also available on iOS this week. In case you don’t have this option within the message actions, don’t worry as this feature will be widely rolled out to more people over the coming days.
Note that there may be some limits in keeping old messages from disappearing and it may vary from 24 to 30 days: for example, you may be unable to keep a message from disappearing sent 50 days ago. In addition, people in the conversation are still in control over this feature: anyone can unkeep messages in the chat by using the “unkeep” action (and it won’t be possible to keep it from disappearing anymore), but group admins may be the only people to be able to keep a message from disappearing if they restricted who can edit their group info.
As always, even if the screenshot is taken from WhatsApp beta for iOS, the feature is also available to some beta testers on WhatsApp beta for Android: in fact, it is finally available to some beta testers that install the latest versions of WhatsApp for iOS and Android from the Store, and it is rolling out to even more people over the coming days.
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