WhatsApp Adds Snapchat-Inspired 'View Once': How Instant Photo, Video Disappearing Tool Works

WhatsApp has started rolling out a new feature dubbed ‘View Once,’ nearly two months after confirming its development. As the name of the tool suggests, the option lets users send videos and photos that can be viewed only once. The Facebook-owned company announced the development across its social media channels, and the tool is said to give “more control” over chats privacy. The View Once feature appears to be inspired by Snapchat that has been offering this option for years. Notably, View Once is also available on Instagram DM (direct message), another popular social media service owned by Facebook.

It appears that the View Once is rolling out in a staggered manner, meaning only limited users are currently getting the update. A broad rollout is expected in the coming days, and users must ensure that they are using the latest version of WhatsApp. As per users’ replies on Twitter, the feature is unavailable on iOS, and we couldn’t spot it on an iPhone either. WhatsApp has also shared a tiny clip, showing how View Once works. To use the feature, open a chat, select the photo or video you want to send, and click on the circle with ‘1’ in it on the text bar before sending. After the receiver opens the image or video, the file will disappear instantly.

WhatsApp in its FAQ page notes that when users send photos and videos using View Once, the sender will be notified once the recipient has opened the file. Notably, the sender can still see the ‘opened’ prompt even if the receiver has disabled read receipts. However, the sender will not get a notification if the receiver takes a screenshot or uses screen recording, unlike Snapchat that notifies users. If users send a photo using View Once to people who have disabled the option, the feature would still work, and files can be viewed only once. Additionally, if you don’t open the photo or video within 14 days of it being sent, the media will expire from the chat. Last year in November, WhatsApp introduced a similar Disappearing Messages feature that automatically removed media files from both individual and group chats but not instantly. Media files were removed after a week.

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