SnapChat-style temporary messaging becoming mainstream

The trend in online messaging toward temporary or “ephemeral” communication continues to gain momentum as more companies are announcing that they are incorporating the feature into their products.

Poof … it’s gone

Temporary messaging is most commonly associated with SnapChat, the social sharing site famous for allowing users to send photos or video that vanish into the ether after being displayed for a few seconds. SnapChat has seen its number of unique mobile users almost triple to nearly 25 million over the past year, according to the digital analytics firm comScore. Snapchat reportedly turned down a $3 billion acquisition offer from Facebook last year.

Some Adopters of Temporary Messaging

Earlier this month, Apple revealed during its annual Worldwide Developer Conference that ephemeral messaging (messages that automatically delete after 24 hours) would be built into its Messages app in iOS 8.

Social networking app Path has also announced a new “ephemeral messaging” feature beginning this month, writing on its website, “Starting June 11th, all messages will be made 24 hour ephemeral. This means that all new messages will be automatically removed from our servers 24 hours after being sent, including your old messages.”

The popular dating app Tinder also is adding a new feature that allows users to share images that expire in 24 hours.

Now You See It, Now You Don’t

Applications that automatically delete messages or images are appealing to many teens and young adults who are (sometimes) wary of leaving an unwanted digital trail on social media sites.

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