Introduction

I am a HUGE fan of matrix. It allows me to organize my chats in a sensible way, it works with multiple identities and completly anonymous if I want it to. Spaces made Matrix my favourite messenger by far. Yet, there is one feature I have been missing: Disappearing messages!

Regarding the security and usability, only Signal is comparable to matrix. But: Signal offers the possibilty to define disappearing messages for groups and direct messages ranging from 30 seconds to 4 weeks. No Matrix client (to my knowledge) offers this functionality. Nevertheless, it is possible to configure matrix rooms to have the same feature. This needs a special server configuration and the sending of a special event in the room. This post tries to show both steps. If you do not administer a server you can probably skip to Room configuration