WhatsApp messages disappear automatically when a conversation has disappearing messages enabled. You can switch off the timer for an existing chat and stop new conversations from starting with one. The change affects future messages, so preserve anything important that's already on a timer before turning it off.
Turn off disappearing messages in a personal chat
Start here when messages disappear from a conversation with one person. Either participant can change this setting on Android or iPhone.
First, use Keep on any eligible message you want to preserve. Do this before its timer expires and before disabling disappearing messages, because the option is unavailable afterward. The sender can reject keeping a message.
Keeping a message preserves that selected message without switching off disappearing messages for the conversation. If you only need to save an eligible message, you can leave the timer enabled for the rest of the chat.
Open the conversation.
Tap the contact’s name at the top.
Tap Disappearing messages.
Select Continue if prompted.
Choose Off, then tap the back arrow to apply the change. That stops the chat’s timer from applying to subsequent messages. Messages sent under the previous setting remain on their original timer.
Stop new chats from starting with a timer
Turn off your default timer to stop applying disappearing messages automatically to new individual conversations.
- 1.On Android, open the three-dot menu, then tap Settings. On iPhone, open Settings directly.
- 2.Select Privacy.
- 3.Tap Default message timer.
- 4.Choose Off.
Existing conversations keep their own settings, so turn off the timer inside each affected chat too. Another participant can still enable disappearing messages.
The default timer and an existing conversation’s timer are separate settings. Switching off the default changes how new individual chats start; it does not remove a timer that is already active in a personal conversation or group.
If messages disappear from a group
Group control isn't always limited to administrators. Members can turn off disappearing messages unless an administrator has restricted that permission.
On your phone, open Chats.
Open the group.
Tap the group name to open Group info.
Select Disappearing messages.
Tap Continue if prompted.
Choose Off to stop the timer for subsequent messages.
Using WhatsApp Web? Open the group in your linked browser session.
Click the group name to open Group info.
Select Disappearing Messages.
Choose Continue if prompted.
Click Off.
If group permissions prevent the change, ask an administrator to turn off disappearing messages. The same restriction applies on mobile and WhatsApp Web.
Why older messages can still disappear
Messages sent under an earlier timer remain on that timer even after you select Off.
Use Keep on an eligible original message before it expires, while disappearing messages are still enabled. Keeping it leaves the conversation’s timer running, and the sender has the final say on whether the message stays.
For a separate copy, forward an eligible message before it expires to a conversation with disappearing messages set to Off. The forwarded copy will not disappear there because of the original timer.
Forwarding leaves the original message on its timer and does not change the source conversation’s settings.
A quoted reply may retain quoted text, but it does not guarantee that the complete original message will remain. Use the preservation options before the original expires, because turning off the timer does not change messages already sent.
Prevent group members from turning the timer back on
As a group administrator, you can reserve group-setting changes for administrators on your phone or in WhatsApp Web.
- 1.Set the group’s Disappearing Messages to Off using the group instructions above.
- 2.Open the group and tap or click the group name.
- 3.Select Group permissions.
- 4.Switch off Edit group settings.
Members will no longer be able to change that setting. Another administrator can still turn the timer back on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will restoring a backup keep disappearing messages permanently?
No. WhatsApp deletes disappearing messages when they are restored, so a backup does not preserve them permanently.
Are disappearing photos and videos automatically saved to my phone?
No. WhatsApp says disappearing media will not automatically be saved to Photos.
Does quoting a disappearing message save the original?
No. A quoted reply does not guarantee preservation of the complete original message, even when quoted text remains.