Washington (AFP)

Facebook-owned WhatsApp messaging announced Thursday that it would introduce a new option to delete messages after seven days, in an attempt to resist Snapchat, whose charm is in ephemeral messages.

WhatsApp, used by more than 2 billion people around the world, said in a blog post that it would now allow users to choose between keeping messages or erasing them themselves after seven days.

Currently there is a history of all conversations held on the voicemail.

And even when the user deletes the contact, those conversations come back after that contact sends a message back.

"Today, the messages sent on Whatsapp are permanent there. If it is good to refresh your memory with friends and family, most of the messages we send do not have to be eternal," emphasizes the service in his blog post.

And continued, “Our goal is to make conversations on Whatsapp look like conversations people can have face-to-face, which means they don't have to be forever. That's why we're excited to the idea of ​​introducing the option to make messages disappear, ”explains the group.

Facebook, parent company of WhatsAspp, has already introduced an identical option on its internal messaging platform Messenger, with the aim of trivializing what has allowed Snapchat to differentiate itself from other social networks.

WhatsApp has chosen to give its users a seven day window because "the shopping list or store addresses you received a few days ago will be there if you need them and will be gone when you are finished. need, "said the courier.

The announcement comes as the social network Facebook is losing ground to Snapchat and TikTok among young audiences.

Instagram, another platform owned by Facebook, continues to grow with these same young people, but at a slower pace.

A recent survey by Piper Jaffray showed Snapchat to be the preferred social network for American teens, followed by Tiktok, which topped Instagram.

© 2020 AFP