So, how does this work? Well, first and foremost, disappearing messages in Facebook Messenger are sent via the so-called “Vanish Mode”. Those messages will disappear once the receiver has seen them, therefore it’s a really nice feature to have if you don’t want some messages to be saved in messenger. That being said, we’ll show you how to activate this feature, though do note that you can only do it via an app, not via the Messenger web client. Read on.
How to send disappearing messages in Facebook Messenger
So, once you’ve opened Facebook Messenger, you’ll need to choose a contact you’d like to send a disappearing message to. Do note that this feature does not work in group chats, only one-on-one. Once you’ve chosen a contact, open the conversation with that person, and start swiping up. As you do that, you’ll see a prompt appear on the bottom, saying “Hold to turn on vanish mode”. A second after that, you’ll see a new prompt saying “Release to turn on vanish mode”. Simply lift your finger, and vanish mode will activate.
Once you do that, you will see the app’s prompt, shortly explaining what is Vanish Mode, as shown below. Simply tap “OK” when you’re ready.
If you’re using a light theme, vanish mode will appear in dark theme, just to appear different from the regular mode. When you’re in the conversation with the Vanish Mode active, it clearly says “Vanish Mode”, as you can see in the image below.
You can type in any message here, or send an image, and it will disappear once the receiver sees it. The receiver will also be notified when you take a screenshot, as you can see in the conversation below.
If you’d like to turn off Vanish Mode, you can do that in two ways. You can tap on the “Turn Off Vanish Mode” prompt up top
Alternatively, you can repeat the procedure for activating Vanish Mode. In other words, you can swipe up, and hold your finger until you see the “Release to turn off vanish mode” prompt.
