Disappearing messages aren't working as expected
How to turn disappearing messages on in TACENZA Chat, why older messages stay, who can change the timer in a group, and what it can't prevent.
The most common surprise: the timer applies to new messages only. Messages sent before you turned it on stay until you delete them.
Turn it on for a chat
- In a 1:1 chat: open the chat’s info and choose a time under Disappearing messages.
- In a group: open Manage group › Settings and choose a time under Disappearing messages.
You can choose Off – messages stay, After 5 minutes, After 1 hour, After 1 day or After 7 days. Everyone in the chat sees a note that the timer changed, and each message shows how long it has left. When the time is up, the server deletes the message.
Turn it on for new chats
Go to Settings › Messages and choose Disappearing messages for new chats. This applies to chats you start from now on, not existing ones.
If it isn’t working
- The older messages are still there. That’s expected – see above. Delete them yourself if you need to.
- “Only admins can change this.” In groups, only people allowed to change group settings can set the timer. Ask an admin.
- Someone else turned it off. The chat shows a note saying who changed the timer.
- A forwarded copy is still there. A forwarded message, or a file saved to a device, is a new copy and isn’t covered by the original chat’s timer.
Disappearing messages can’t stop the people you write to from copying the text or taking a screenshot. For more protection, a chat can turn on Protected content, which turns off saving, copying and forwarding. Even then, a web page can’t block screenshots – only the desktop app can. See Using the desktop app.
Read more: Privacy and safety settings in the docs.
Still stuck?
If messages don’t disappear after their timer runs out, contact support and tell us which chat type (1:1 or group) and the timer you chose.