Social media giant Facebook is reportedly working on a new feature for its Messenger chat platform that automatically deletes users' sent messages after a certain period of time. Facebook is testing the feature currently in France, reports AFP. The concept of vanishing messages seems similar to what rival Snapchat offers on its own platform.
"We're conducting a small test in France of a feature that allows people to send messages that disappear an hour after they're sent. Disappearing messages gives people another fun option to choose from when they communicate on Messenger," the AFP report quotes Facebook as saying.
Reportedly, some users -- in France -- are noticing an hourglass icon on the top right of the screen in Messenger. Tapping on the icon allows users to send messages that disappear from the recipient's inbox an hour after they are sent. The feature is being tested on both Android as well as iOS platforms.
Facebook is known to conduct similar tests from time to time in a bid to make its chat platform more useful. If successful, the features make their way gradually to other countries.
Earlier, Facebook introduced a new Message Requests feature that lets you chat with anyone in the world. Earlier, the Other folder used to automatically filter messages sent by strangers, keeping them separate from the main inbox.
The change leaves all the messages you receive -- from anyone -- in the inbox itself in the form of a request (to chat) and Facebook will allow you to accept or ignore these 'new' requests without the sender knowing that you read the message.
- India Today