Messaging caps can hoard a lot of data, be it by keeping photos, personal messages, and videos overtime within a particular conversation thread, and this may also include sensitive information such as who users talk to the most, where they've been, and what apps or services they use.

Because of this, there's been a small but visible push toward messaging apps with end-to-end encryption. These kinds of messaging apps largely appeal to users brimmed with concerns over privacy.

Viber's New "Secret Messages" Feature

Thankfully, one of the most popular and widely used encrypted chat apps, Viber, has now rolled out what it calls "Secret Messages," or a feature that'll let users send photos or videos with a custom self-destruct mechanism, or a time bomb, as it were, in which the content will disappear after a set duration. The feature also lets users designate which photos or videos stay in the archives of a particular chat before hitting "send."

"With secret messages, the fun of sending in-the-moment photos and videos doesn't come at the expense of your entire conversation. All of your chat history remains intact," Viber announced via a blog post.

At present, Viber already offers the option to delete specific content from both the user's own phone and that of the recipient's phone, something that isn't possible on Facebook's messaging app, Messenger.

How It Works

The new secret messaging feature will let users set a custom time for images they want to send, but don't want to remain in the conversation archive, similar to the way Snapchat works. The time options available are one, three, seven, or 10 seconds. After the time is up, the recipient will see that something had been shared, although there'd be no way to retrieve that particular content.

Additionally, Viber now also offers the ability to send a video that can only be watched once, whereupon it disappears from the archive. The good thing is that both features can work either in one-on-one conversations or group threads.

The security aspect of the app's secret messaging feature makes it a direct competitor to chat platforms that offer similar functionalities, including Edward Snowden-approved encrypted chat app Signal, WhatsApp, Line, and KakaoTalk, among others.

As of last month, Viber has reportedly garnered more than 800 million users, with over 260 million daily active users. The new features bolsters Viber's placement in the thinning encrypted messaging apps category, and although Line and KakaoTalk are already offering something similar, Viber's new commitment to encryption is a welcome addition.

The Push For Encrypted Chat Apps

With over 260 million daily active users, it's not difficult to imagine that Viber's new secret messaging feature will quickly be picked up by its user base, and hopefully, the idea of encrypted messages becomes the norm, so as to allay public unrest over internet privacy, at least in the messaging space. There's a ways to go in that department, but inroads such as Viber's help push it forward.

The update is now rolling out for both iOS and Android.

Have you tried Viber's new secret messaging feature? Tell us how's the experience so far in the comments section below!