WhatsApp has launched a new feature that lets users send photos and videos that can only be viewed once by recipients.
The message will be shown as “opened” once the media content has been viewed.
The new change initially started rolling out to the iPhone users through a new WhatsApp version on August 3.
The instant messaging app later announced its rollout for all users, including the ones on Android. WhatsApp has been testing the ‘View Once’ feature for some time to essentially enable photos and videos to disappear from the chat after they are viewed by the recipient.
The feature doesn’t restrict people from keeping a record of the media content by simply taking their screenshots.
Once users get the ‘View Once’ feature, they will be able to enable the disappearing of the photo or video before sending it to other contacts by tapping the new ‘1′ icon that appears next to the caption bar.
“Only send photos or videos with view once media enabled to trusted individuals. For example, it’s possible for someone to: Take a screenshot or screen recording of the media before it disappears. You won’t be notified if someone takes a screenshot or screen.
About WhatsApp’s ‘View Once’ key features:
• Media will not be saved to the recipient’s Photos or Gallery.
• Once you send a view once a photo or video, you won’t be able to view it again.
• One cannot forward, save, star, or share photos or videos that were sent or received with the view once media is enabled.
• One can only see if a recipient has opened a view once photo or video if they have read receipts turned on.
• If you don’t open the photo or video within 14 days of it being sent, the media will expire from the chat.
• An individual must select view once media each time you want to send a view once photo or video.
• View once media can be restored from backup if the message is unopened at the time of backup. If the photo or video has already been opened, the media will not be included in the backup and can’t be restored.
How to send ‘View once’ photos/videos on WhatsApp?
When sending a photo or video, users 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.
