How to set your business's disappearing-messages policy

Choose whether team chat may use disappearing messages at all, and the timer new conversations start with.

Updated 2026-10-17

The business decides whether team chat may use disappearing messages. An owner or admin sets this; everyone else can see it but not change it.

It is in Settings → Team, under Disappearing messages.

Set the policy

1. Open Settings and choose Team (under People).
2. Find Disappearing messages.
3. Switch Allow disappearing messages in team chat on or off.
4. Choose the Default timer for new conversations: Off, 5 minutes, 1 hour, 8 hours, 1 day, 1 week or 4 weeks.

The change is saved when you press it.

What each choice does

• Allowed, default Off: nothing disappears unless someone sets a timer on a conversation.
• Allowed, with a default: every new conversation starts with that timer. People can still change it in each conversation.
• Switched off: no timer can be set and no new message is given one. Messages written before you switched it off still disappear at their own time.

If your business must keep records for legal reasons, switch this off.

What backups keep

Disappearing messages are deleted from Otto when their time is up. Someone can still copy or screenshot them, and server backups keep copies for up to 12 months. This is not end-to-end encryption.

If it doesn't work

• "An owner or admin can change this" — the switch is greyed out for everyone else.
• "Pick one of the times offered." — choose one of the listed timers.