WhatsApp is changing settings for MILLIONS of users in a sudden update today

WHATSAPP rolls out a surprise update that will change attitudes for millions of users.

It’s an attempt to protect your privacy when using disappearing messages.

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WhatsApp added it late last year automatically self-destructing texts.

This is a setting you can enable to delete texts after a certain amount of time.

But if someone has turned on auto-save media, photos and videos sent this way are still automatically saved to your phone.

This is cumbersome from the point of view of data protection – like this Whatsapp decided to change something.

Starting today, WhatsApp will automatically turn on the “Media Visibility” option for disappearing chats Android.

And on iPhone, WhatsApp also disables “Save to Camera Roll” for disappearing messages by default.

That means photos, videos, and GIFs are no longer automatically saved for disappearing message conversations.

The change was spotted by WhatsApp investigators WABetaInfo.

“This is to ensure a better privacy experience when using disappearing messages,” WABetaInfo said.

“And to help keep media more private in disappearing chat threads.”

Unfortunately, the attitude change isn’t foolproof.

It’s still possible to manually save media from disappearing messages.

So if you’re nervous about saving a disappearing message, don’t send it in the first place.

The change will roll out to all users starting today.

So if you already have this setting, you won’t notice anything different.

But for everyone else, your settings will automatically be set to avoid media.

All disappearing messages remain end-to-end encrypted, just like regular WhatsApp messages.

“Living separated from family and friends for over a year has made it clearer than ever that we don’t have to sacrifice the privacy of our personal connections just because we can’t speak in person,” WhatsApp said.

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“We believe that disappearing messages, along with end-to-end encryption, are two key features that define what it means to be a private messaging service today.

“And bring us one step closer to the feeling of a personal conversation.”

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