Viber’s feature allows for customizable disappearing times, from 10 seconds to one day, as well as the ability to easily activate the disappearing function within a group chat; app disables forwarding, copying, or taking a screenshot when disappearing option is in use
Colombo, October 2021 – Rakuten Viber, a global leader in cross-platform messaging and voice-based communication that recently surpassed one billion Google Play downloads worldwide, is announcing the global rollout of disappearing message options for group chats within the Viber app, a feature that was previously available only for one-on-one chats.
When it comes to setting disappearing messages in a group chat, users will not need to go through a multi-step process to change the status for messages in the group. With Viber’s feature, members can easily toggle the feature on and off within the chat itself.
With the expanded functionality, Viber users can set messages in a group chat to disappear 10 seconds, one minute, one hour, or one day after being read, offering more options than with the disappearing message features of other apps. On devices using Android 6 or newer, Viber will completely disable forwarding, copying, or taking a screenshot of a message when the disappearing option is activated. For earlier versions of Android and all iOS users, group chat members will be automatically notified if any member takes a screenshot of a message set to disappear. The feature can be applied to any type of message, including photos and stickers
For example, if a group of people have been invited to a house party, the code to get in the gate can be sent in a group chat as a message set to disappear one minute after users have read the message.
Personal and group chats on Viber are end-to-end encrypted, so users can be sure that their communications are always private and secure. The disappearing message feature is another example of Viber’s commitment to offering a secure messaging app where users can be confident in the privacy of their conversations with individuals or groups.
“We’re excited to give Viber users the ultimate control when they’re sending private messages either to an individual or a group,” says Nadav Melnick, Vice President of Product for Rakuten Viber. “Privacy has long been a paramount concern for us, as evidenced by our unwavering adherence to end-to-end encryption. With this update, our commitment to privacy becomes even more personal for our users and the people they talk to most.”