WhatsApp is rolling out a new feature called ‘View Once’ that lets users set photos and videos to disappear from chats once they are viewed.
“While taking photos or videos on our phones has become such a big part of our lives, not everything we share needs to become a permanent digital record. On many phones, simply taking a photo means it will take up space in your camera roll forever.”
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In a blog post published on Tuesday, WhatsApp announced the rollout of ‘view once’ photos and videos that disappear from the chat after they’ve been opened, giving users even more control over their privacy.
The platform gave a few examples of how the new feature may be useful, whether it is a photo of some new clothes you are trying on at a store, a quick video reaction to a moment in time, or something sensitive like a photo of your Wi-Fi password.
‘View Once’ photos and videos are protected by end-to-end encryption, which means that WhatsApp cannot see them. They will also be clearly marked with a new “one-time” icon. After they have been viewed once, the message will appear as “opened” but the media will no longer be available. WhatsApp says the label will help people make sense of what was happening in the chat before the photo or video was removed.
