‘View Once’ disappearing feature for photos & videos launched by WhatsApp

Aug 5: WhatsApp now lets you send photos and videos that can only be viewed once by recipients. WhatsApp has rolled out this new feature called ‘View Once’ this week. A photo or a video immediately will be deleted from the chat once opened by the recipient through WhatsApp’s ‘View once’ feature.

The new change initially started rolling out to the iPhone users through a new WhatsApp version on Tuesday. However, shortly thereafter, the instant messaging app announced its rollout for all users, including the ones on Android. The media content will not be saved to the recipient’s photo gallery and they can’t even forward them through the app. Moreover, the photo or video sent using the feature will also expire from the chat if it’s not opened within 14 days.

When sending a photo or video, you can make it ‘view once’ by tapping the “1″ button to the left of the send button. After the recipient opens it, it’ll be deleted. “As with all the personal messages you send on WhatsApp, View Once media is protected by end-to-end encryption so WhatsApp cannot see them. They will also be clearly marked with a new “one-time” icon,” the messaging app said.

WhatsApp is currently rolling out the feature to everyone starting this week. Make sure that you have the latest WhatsApp version on your phone to receive the new experience. You can download the latest WhatsApp release on your iPhone by going through the App Store. It is compatible with all iPhone models running iOS 10.0 and later. Android users can also get the updated WhatsApp version from Google Play store.