As we all know, WhatApp is testing the View Once feature for all platforms and also introduced this feature in beta version for iOS. Moreover, some Android beta users are also getting this feature for testing purposes. The feature works like Instagram and Snapchats image and video sending feature where a person can view a photo or video sent by another user only once. So a user can basically record or click a photo from the WhatsApp camera and then enable the View Once feature. Once the receiver has viewed the image/video once the media file completely erases itself.
For now, this particular update is only available in WhatsApp Web version 2.2126.11 and WhatsApp Beta for iOS. The company is trying to release this feature publicly as soon as possible.
As discussed before, the feature is similar to Snapchat’s media sharing feature. This feature makes it easier for users to share sensitive images and videos through their platform. It does not get backed up again and again by WhatsApp’s other media sharing options. This particular feature is solely developed to promote privacy on WhatsApp.
A thing WhatsApp’s view once feature lacks is that it has no way of notifying the sender if the receiver has clicked a screenshot of the disappearing image. Whereas in Snapchat, the receiver is notified when the receiver clicks a screenshot of their image. Hopefully, a method is devised to counter this issue. Till then, users should be careful about what they send through the view once feature.
According to details shared by WABetaInfo, this feature still works if someone has disabled read receipts in both groups and private chats. People can also save images and videos through screenshots. Blocked contacts can still access the disappearing images/videos on common groups. The feature will also work for the people who have not enabled it, only when they are the receivers.
Apart from that, WhatsApp is also developing a feature that will introduce disappearing messages on the platform, similar to the view once media feature. This was confirmed by WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Concludingly, WhatsApp introduces this feature in a phased manner, so if you can’t find it on your device, do not worry, as you will soon be getting it. The feature looks very promising in terms of maintaining privacy on the platform and can be very vital to the users.
