Facebook messenger had ephemeral message feature for execs only
buzzfeed.com
buzzfeed.com
Hell I used to do digital forensic cases involving high level executives, half of them didn't even use an email account or any messaging service to begin with. They'd have messages relayed to and from them from assistants who would be their scapegoat: if they did get caught doing something illegal, the assistant would be the only one holding any actual evidence of the act.
The fact that it was built into Facebook makes me think it's less nefarious than this article makes it out to be. Maybe executives heard about the project and just jumped at the chance to be alpha testers? I am absolutely not a fan of Facebook, but this article isn't painting a good picture of what has actually happened and why.