New Delhi: Messaging app WhatsApp has rolled out a 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, giving users even more control over their privacy.
“Media will not be saved to the recipient’s Photos or Gallery. Once you send a view once photo or video, you won’t be able to view it again,” WhatApp said in a statement on Tuesday. The recipient will also be able to see that it is a ‘view ones’ photo/video, so this new feature one would want to use for people you trust to not take a screenshot.
The feature has been rolled out to everyone starting this week, and WhatsApp is looking forward to “feedback on this new way to send private and disappearing media”.
For example, you might send a View Once photo of some new clothes you’re trying on at a store, a quick reaction to a moment in time, or something sensitive like a Wi-Fi password. “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,” the company said.
After the media has been viewed, the message will appear as “opened” to avoid any confusion about what was happening in the chat at the time.
You can’t forward, save, star, or share photos or videos that were sent or received with view once media enabled.