WhatsApp rolls out ‘View Once’ feature for photos and videos

Facebook-owned WhatsApp has rolled out the ‘View Once’ feature for both android and iOS users which will automatically delete photos and videos after the recipient has viewed them once.

WhatsApp said that like all chats, ‘View Once’ media is also protected by end-to-end encryption and nobody, apart from sender and receiver can access it.

This also means that by using this feature, photos and videos will not be automatically saved to the recipient’s Gallery nor will the recipient be able to share, save or forward these messages.

The ‘View Once’ feature is only available on the latest version of WhatsApp, which is enabled by tapping an icon in the text bar before sending the message.

Users are also warned to “only send photos or videos with view once media enabled to trusted individuals” as it is still possible to take a screenshot or screen recording of the media before it disappears.

The ‘View Once’ feature will also self-destruct if they remain unopened by the recipient for two weeks.

WhatsApp said that once opened, ‘View Once’ media won’t be included in backups. Also, senders need to select the ‘View Once’ option each time they send media.

However, WhatsApp warned that once opened, the media will not be available for recipients but it may continue to live on WhatsApp servers “for a few weeks”.