Now You See It, Now You Don’t: Facebook Testing Self-Destructing Messages

Turning the feature on; after the message disappears into the fiery chasm from whence it came.

Turning the feature on; after the message disappears into the fiery chasm from whence it came.

Facebook is reportedly trying a totally new, completely novel, never-before-seen kind of message — oh, hang on a second, Snapchat has been doing self-destructing photos and videos for a while now. But anyway, Facebook apparently wants to do that kind of thing, too.

For all those missives you’d rather disappear instead of having them linger in your friend’s or loved one’s (or, honestly, your nemesis’) inbox, Facebook is trying out a feature that allows users to set their messages to self-destruct an hour after they’re sent, using the Messenger app.

Messenger users can turn on the disappearing option by tapping an hourglass icon included in the app. Tap it again, and the feature is disabled.

The option is only being tested in France for now, but could expand to other countries if it proves popular.

“We’re excited to announce the latest in an engaging line of optional product features geared towards making Messenger the best way to communicate with the people that matter most,” Facebook said in a statement (h/t Buzzfeed News). “Starting today, 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. We look forward to hearing people’s feedback as they give it a try.”

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