San Francisco, March 15 (IANS): Facebook-owned WhatsApp after launching the much-awaited 'Dark Mode' feature for its users is now reportedly working on a new feature that will delete messages automatically after a stipulated time as set by users.

In two beta versions 2.20.83 as well as 2.20.84 of the app, the option to set self-destructing messages in private chats was be found and one can choose the expiry period of the messages between one hour, one day, one week, one month or one year, GSMArena reported on Saturday.

However, it is presently unknown that when the new feature will make it to the stable version, but it is an indication that the developers' team is working on the feature.

According to a recent report, the feature will be initially available for group chats only and can be enabled by the group's administrators. Once enabled, the feature can be toggled in Contact Info or Group Settings.

Once available, the feature will come with a toggle on/off button and users can choose a stipulated time -- an hour, a day, a week, a month or an year -- for the messages to automatically disappear.