WhatsApp has a number of privacy features, one of which is ‘View Once’. This feature allows users to send photos and videos that once opened will disappear from the recipient’s WhatsApp chat. The feature was removed a year ago, but is now said to be rolling out to some users.
According to a report by WABetainfo, the removal of support for sending View Once messages from the desktop app seemed unnecessary as users were restricted from sharing “View Once” photos and videos.
“In the past few weeks, WhatsApp appears to have decided to bring back support for sending photos and videos, which will only appear once in all desktop apps.” he added.
Restore the WhatsApp “See Once” button
As WhatsApp is restoring the ability to send “show once” messages, a button to set an image as a show once message is now available within the caption bar of the drawing editor in WhatsApp for Windows.
WhatsApp has also enabled support for sending view-once messages from WhatsApp for macOS and linked devices in the past few weeks. Please note that WhatsApp Web recently launched the ability to send “see only once” photos and videos.
What is the “See Once” message feature?
The ability to send ‘see once messages’ from the WhatsApp desktop app allows users to send photos and videos that can be viewed only once. If the message is set to “See Once”, the media will not be saved to the recipient’s Photos or Gallery, and once a one-time photo or video is sent, the user cannot see it again.
Photos and videos sent with “Watch Once” cannot be transferred, saved, starred, or shared. The only thing the sender will know is that the recipient has viewed the photo or video only once if read receipts are turned on.
“If you do not open the photo or video within 14 days after it is sent, the media will expire from the chat. You must select View Once Media every time you send a View Once photo or video,” WhatsApp says. states.
If no messages were opened at the time of the backup, you can restore the “Show Once” media from the backup. If a photo or video is already opened, the media will not be included in the backup and cannot be restored.
According to a report by WABetainfo, the removal of support for sending View Once messages from the desktop app seemed unnecessary as users were restricted from sharing “View Once” photos and videos.
“In the past few weeks, WhatsApp appears to have decided to bring back support for sending photos and videos, which will only appear once in all desktop apps.” he added.
Restore the WhatsApp “See Once” button
As WhatsApp is restoring the ability to send “show once” messages, a button to set an image as a show once message is now available within the caption bar of the drawing editor in WhatsApp for Windows.
WhatsApp has also enabled support for sending view-once messages from WhatsApp for macOS and linked devices in the past few weeks. Please note that WhatsApp Web recently launched the ability to send “see only once” photos and videos.
What is the “See Once” message feature?
The ability to send ‘see once messages’ from the WhatsApp desktop app allows users to send photos and videos that can be viewed only once. If the message is set to “See Once”, the media will not be saved to the recipient’s Photos or Gallery, and once a one-time photo or video is sent, the user cannot see it again.
Photos and videos sent with “Watch Once” cannot be transferred, saved, starred, or shared. The only thing the sender will know is that the recipient has viewed the photo or video only once if read receipts are turned on.
“If you do not open the photo or video within 14 days after it is sent, the media will expire from the chat. You must select View Once Media every time you send a View Once photo or video,” WhatsApp says. states.
If no messages were opened at the time of the backup, you can restore the “Show Once” media from the backup. If a photo or video is already opened, the media will not be included in the backup and cannot be restored.