Meta is rolling out View Once functionality to WhatsApp on desktop and the web, allowing users to send time-sensitive content.
The update was first spotted by WABetaInfo, as the tech giant has yet to officially announce it. Looking at WABetaInfo’s report, it’s basically the exact same functionality on mobile. In his 2022, WhatsApp has added View Once to its smartphone app as a new privacy tool. Photos and videos sent to contacts in this way cannot be saved. Once the recipient views the file, it is lost forever. This ensures that sensitive materials are not at risk of being seen by external parties, shared with others, or exfiltrated by malicious parties. According to WABetaInfo, this seems to have been highly requested, as some users were complaining about being unable to “view once his message” on the desktop. Meta seems to have heard the outcry, but it took more than a year for the company to respond.
important details
There are some small details you should know.
According to WhatsApp’s Help Center, recipients have 14 days to open the media or it will be automatically deleted. Other people cannot take screenshots of temporary content, but only if the latest version of his WhatsApp is installed. If someone else is running older software, they may be able to screenshot your View Once file. Therefore, the company strictly recommends that you submit content to individuals you trust. There are plans to address the privacy gap, but there’s no word on when Meta will address the issue.
Please note that you cannot send multiple temporary images at once. You must submit each file one by one. Additionally, as Windows Central points out, you can rewatch temporary videos “as many times as you like,” but you must remain in the interface. If you click play or close the window in the middle, you will no longer be able to access it.
This update is available for both Windows and macOS users. According to WABetaInfo, the update is being released in stages, so only a select group can access it at the moment. We recommend keeping an eye out for patches when they arrive.
View Once How to submit content
Sending a view-once photo is easy. Launch WhatsApp on your desktop, select a chat, then click the attachment icon next to the text box and select an image. Above the send button, you’ll see the number 1 inside a disappearing circle. Clicking on that icon will enable the View Once feature. If you send a photo to someone, it will be deleted the moment that person closes it.
WhatsApp on the web has a different layout, but fortunately the process is exactly the same.
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