After a year-long hiatus, WhatsApp is reviving the “View Once” feature for photos and videos for both web and desktop users, confirmed a report by WABetaInfo. This feature, which allows users to send ephemeral media that disappears after the recipient has viewed it, was initially removed from web and desktop applications due to privacy concerns. Because web and desktop users were able to take screenshots and the company couldn’t prevent it. As a result, it decided to halt this feature for web and desktop users.
However, WhatsApp has now addressed these concerns and is bringing back the feature to provide users with a consistent privacy-focused experience across all devices. Similar to smartphones, it lets you send photos and videos that vanish after the other party views them. So, if you send it to someone and they open and close it, it’s gone forever. Interestingly, though, WhatsApp Desktop lost this feature a year ago over privacy concerns.
WhatsApp is bringing back the View Once feature to Web and PC users
The highly-anticipated “View Once” feature is gradually making its way to WhatsApp users on the web, Windows, and macOS. The report adds that it has begun to roll out, and will be available to all users gradually.
With the “View Once” feature, users can share sensitive or private moments. It eliminates the risk of media being permanently saved on the recipient’s device. Once the recipient opens and closes the media, it is permanently deleted from their chat history. This feature is particularly useful for sharing confidential information. For example, spontaneous selfies, or any other content that users prefer to keep temporarily.
WhatsApp has been on a roll lately. It has brought several features to the app recently. For instance, email verification for iOS users, an AI chatbot for Android users, and a Discord-like chatroom.