WhatsApp is rolling out support for self-destructing photos and videos

There are times when you want to send across a message or a video but you don’t want the recipient to see it more than once. That’s pretty much the reason why Snapchat was invented. However, the concept has since been picked up by various other applications, and Facebook-owned WhatsApp is the latest one to jump on the disappearing messages bandwagon, as the company has now announced.

To give people an additional layer of privacy and control over what they said, WhatsApp is rolling out ‘View Once’ photos and videos. This long-requested feature will finally be making its way to iPhone and Android.

It’s pretty straightforward; images and videos are sent using the View Once feature by tapping the ‘1’ icon will only be opened once by the recipient. There’s also no media preview.

These photos won’t automatically be saved in camera rolls, which is good news. Sadly, unlike Snapchat, WhatsApp won’t be alerting users if someone screenshots the disappearing message. (Luckily, this problem had been fixing in August 2022) Therefore, keep in mind that the recipient can still screenshot the message or video, or record it using another phone. That’s why it’s not completely safe if you were planning to send extremely sensitive data.

WhatsApp says you might use the feature to send photos of clothes you’re trying on in a shop, or sensitive info like a WiFi password.

Before you get started, you’ll need to make sure you’re using the latest version of the app which is version 2.21.14.24. But it’s possible to receive it without being updated. The update is available on the Play Store or over at APK Mirror. For iPhone, you’ll need to go to the App Store and check for updates.