Now, send self-destructing messages on WhatsApp just like Snapchat

Self-destructing messages are seen in various messaging apps such as iMessage and Snapchat. At present, there are very limited apps that can do the same, but WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Hangouts and emails don’t yet incorporate the these features. What if you could also send self-destructible messages on WhatsApp? This would be a great feature as an add-on to one of the most-used chat platform.

Welcome Kaboom, an app that helps you send self-destructive messages via Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Google Hangouts and practically every sharing platform out there. Simply download the application from App Store or from Google Play and you are ready to ‘Kaboom’.

Once you run the application, you will be asked to type in your message, add in a photo or click a selfie, apply the self-destruction time and then share it with your friends.   Depending on the self-destruction time (from one view to 1,000 days), your message will be visible accordingly.The interesting part is that the user at the other end does not need to install the same application. The message is sent across as a link on the chat platform and after the user clicks on the link, he or she can view the message accordingly.

(After clicking the link, you can view the personalised message or photo)

Sadly, there is one issue we noted. The message is carried as a simple info with a link, stating

‘Check out this link from Kaboom: https://share.kaboomit.com/xxxx’.  The user across would not know how this message ended up from you and would think it could be a malware or a marketing spam. In short, he or she would end up deleting the message and be safe rather than clicking on it. Since Kaboom is not yet well known, people may tend to delete the message before opening it.

Kaboom is yet in its infancy and has to implement more features to get the craze started. Developers from Hotspot Shield, the makers of the app, should take note that the message forwarded should carry the name of the sender, along with a short description about the self-destruction. On the other hand, there is no confirmation about how secure or safe your messages are with the service. Though the messages state they are self-destructible, the servers could be storing it in the background. So make sure you are not sending any sensitive information or any such photographs which could put your privacy at risk. Remember the Snapchat incident?