Categories: Security

Messaging App Viber Adds Self-Destructing Messages

Viber is just one of many messaging apps. If you like to try out all of the latest apps, you might end up with a lot of apps on your device. If you’ve started to collect a lot of apps that you no longer use, you should make sure that you remove them. Use App Manager to remove old, unwanted apps from your device to free up space:

Just like apps, there are some messages that shouldn’t last forever. That’s why Viber, one of the world’s most popular messaging apps, is introducing a feature called “secret messages.” You can now send photos or videos that will disappear within seven seconds of being opened. This is a fun and useful feature for keeping messages “for your eyes only,” since you don’t know who else is scrolling through your friend’s phone.

This isn’t the first time that Viber has introduced a self-destruct feature. They already offer the ability to delete an entire conversation, so the slate gets wiped clean on both your Android and the recipient’s phone. Pretty cool, right? Of course, if a screenshot were to be taken, those words could still be immortalized forever. So, be careful what you send, even on more “secure” messaging apps. The same as on Whatsapp and Signal, Viber also offers end-to-end encryption, another benefit to better protect your conversations. The following are the three key benefits of Viber’s secret messaging feature.

User-Friendly to Send

Sending secret messages on Viber is very easy. All you need to do is take a photo or video, or choose an existing one from your gallery. Before hitting send, set the timer to 1, 3, 7, or 10 seconds. Once the message is seen by your recipient, it will disappear. The only thing left is a timestamp to show where the photo or video once existed.

Save Your Phone’s Data

Videos and photos can take up a lot of data storage. Unless you’re sending a precious message, like your baby’s first steps for instance, it probably doesn’t need to be treasured forever. So, save some space on your phone, and send a secret message using Viber instead.

Keep Your Secrets

1 to 7 seconds isn’t a long time to take a screenshot. So, whether you sent a bad prom shot or your inedible first attempt at baking, your present embarrassment (probably) won’t last into the future. Viber’s secret messaging service makes it easier to keep your secrets safe. But if you’d be devastated by the whole world seeing your photo, don’t send it. Otherwise, go ahead and have fun with Viber’s secret messaging.

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The dfndr blog is an informative channel that presents exclusive content on security and privacy in the mobile and business world, with tips to keep users protected. Populated by a select group of expert reporters, the channel has a partnership with dfndr lab's security team. Together they bring you, first-notice news about attacks, scams, internet vulnerabilities, malware and everything affecting cybersecurity.