Aimee Walker
Mark Zuckerberg is warning Messenger users not to screenshot their chats.
The businessman co-founded the social media service Facebook alongside his university roommates.
He’s now the chairman, chief executive officer and controlling shareholder of its parent company Meta Platform.
Zuckerberg’s fast rise into the technology industry has prompted both political and legal attention.
And now he’s sending out a huge warning to Facebook users – don’t screenshot your chats.
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It comes after Whatsapp launched a similar feature that makes messages disappear after seven days.
A spokesperson explained (via The Verge): “We’re starting with seven days because we think it offers peace of mind that conversations aren’t permanent while remaining practical so you don’t forget what you were chatting about.
“Our goal is to make conversations on WhatsApp feel as close to in-person as possible, which means they shouldn’t have to stick around forever.”
The new Facebook messenger feature is also similar to one over on Snapchat, where your messages and images will disappear over a period of time.
The Messenger platform recently made it possible for users to set their messages to disappear.
Reports have suggested that the move comes following concerns around security, and a wider debate involving freedom of speech and online safety.
The feature’s proper name is Vanish Mode and to turn it on, you simply need to swipe up on your mobile device in an existing chat thread. Swipe up again and you’re back in regular mode.
Bridget Pujals, Messenger Product Manager, and Manik Singh, Instagram Product Manager, said in a statement (via USA Today): “We designed vanish mode with safety and choice in mind, so you control your experience.”
Facebook explained: “We’ve also updated the expiring message feature within our end-to-end encrypted chats.
“People don’t always want or need their messages to stick around and the timer controls let someone decide when their messages expire in the chat.
“We’ve updated this setting to provide more options for people in the chat to choose the amount of time before all new messages disappear, from as few as 5 seconds to as long as 24 hours.”
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And now, Zuckerberg has issued Facebook Messenger users with a stark warning.
The Facebook founder has revealed that an update on Messenger will notify users if someone screenshots a disappearing message, as the text is supposed to vanish after a specific period of time.
People have had some pretty extreme reactions to the update.
One person writes: “I really needed this feature in 2009 when I used to drunk message!”
A second comments: “Thanks for the heads up, Mark! Thank you for not letting us make fools out of ourselves by taking screenshots.”
Someone else says: “Please add this feature on WhatsApp, we want to know if someone takes a screenshot of our conversations.”
While another jokes Zuckerberg is ‘becoming a snitch’.
Zuckerberg writes in a post: “New update for end-to-end encrypted Messenger chats so you get a notification if someone screenshots a disappearing message.
“We’re also adding GIFs, stickers, and reactions to encrypted chats too.”
The Facebook founder shared an exchange between him and his wife, Priscilla Chan. He makes a cheesy joke about a supercomputer and his spouse takes a screenshot, which demonstrates how the notification will work.
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