WhatsApp rolls out ‘View Once’ disappearing photos feature

The latest WhatsApp update brings one of the most anticipated features to the app. ‘View Once’ feature lets you share photos and videos with the other recipient without letting them save, forward, star, or share. Once enabled, after selecting a photo you want to send, it will show a button with the number 1. After clicking the 1 button, the recipient will only be able to view it once, and after that, it will be removed.

This feature has been in Beta for a month, according to WaBetaInfo, and has also been confirmed by Mark Zuckerberg back in June. This feature allows the sender to share sensitive info like WiFi passwords; however, it can still be compromised since the recipient can take screenshots.

Currently, the feature is rolling out and will be available to everyone this week after updating their WhatsApp. If you want to use this feature on your end, make sure you are using an updated version of WhatsApp; if not, update from the Play Store/App Store. Here are the key features of View Once on WhatsApp:

• The recipient can’t share, forward, star, or save photos or videos recieved using View Once mode enabled.
• If the recipeint didn’t open the media file within 14 days of sending, the file will expire.
• The recipient can take screenshot, however, a future update might prevent that from happening or at least alert the sender

WhatsApp’s ‘View Once’ feature isn’t new; it has been around on Instagram and is the key feature of Snapchat. However, since it is the most popular messaging app, this feature was much needed.