How to auto-delete OTP messages after 24 hours on Android

From logging into social media accounts to verifying credentials to transferring money, we use one-time passwords everywhere. OTPs increase security when logging into your accounts online to protect your information from being exposed.

While OTPs are indeed helpful, they become obsolete once used (hence the name) and clutter your inbox. Luckily, Google Messages has a feature to help you declutter your inbox. Let’s see how the feature works and how to automatically delete one-time passwords.

How secure are OTPs?

Right off the bat, OTPs are way more secure than user-created static passwords. This is because a static password can be used multiple times without the need for your phone, but an OTP requires you to have your phone with you to receive the SMS and it expires once it’s used—minimizing the chances of information theft.

However, SMS OTPs are not fully secure since they rely on your phone number to be used. This means if anyone gets access to your SIM card details, they can get new OTPs on their device and access your personal information by pretending to be you. A well-known example of this is Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s sim-swapping incident in 2019.

So, it may not be a great idea to fully depend on OTPs to secure your information. But this doesn’t mean they’re useless; they’re still very helpful in adding an additional layer of protection on top of your regular passwords.

How to auto-delete OTP messages after 24 hours

Google Messages is able to automatically divide your messages into multiple categories such as Personal, Transactions, and OTPs. Because of this feature, you can now view all your OTPs in one place without having to search for them between your other texts.

On top of that, it also lets you auto-delete those one-time passwords after 24 hours. These help keep your inbox clean and clutter-free. Here’s how to enable the feature:

1. In the Google Messages app, tap on the three-dot menu.
2. Tap Settings > Message organization.
3. Toggle on Auto-delete OTPs after 24 hrs.

Organize your inbox with Google Messages

If you’re someone who likes to keep their inbox organized, this small yet nifty feature is of great help. Once this feature is turned on, Google’s machine learning algorithms will automatically detect and delete your OTPs after 24 hours.