Have you ever wanted to send WhatsApp messages with pictures and videos that you would rather not stay in the chat window? If so, WhatsApp will soon have what you need. WhatsApp has begun rolling out the capability to send vanishing images and videos to beta testers on Android after confirming the feature in a recent interview. Here’s how to use WhatsApp’s brand-new View Once feature to share pictures and movies that instantly disappear after being viewed.
Send Disappearing Photos and Videos in WhatsApp (2021)
Before we continue, it’s important to note that, at the time this article was written, only beta testers could use the View Once mode. As a result, you might not notice the feature right once on your device. But in the upcoming weeks, we might anticipate WhatsApp to make the feature available to all users.
What is View Once Mode in WhatsApp?
A new WhatsApp feature called View Once enables users to send and receive private photos and videos.
After being viewed by the recipient, media transmitted in the View once mode will vanish. According to my tests, even if you have read receipts disabled, you can still see if the receiver has opened the image. Before using the feature, you should be aware of a few restrictions. The privacy of View Once mode is not as much as one might think.
Although pictures or videos vanish after the recipient closes them, screenshots can always be taken. Furthermore, WhatsApp won’t alert you if the recipient screenshots a message. When you utilise View Once mode for the first time, WhatsApp publicly acknowledges this restriction and explains it in a pop-up, indicating that the messaging service does not have any plans to add a screenshot detection feature in the future. Therefore, it would be wiser to use Snapchat or other encrypted messaging apps if you were considering transmitting private photographs using this new function.
Disappearing Messages vs View Once Mode in WhatsApp
You (the sender) cannot open an image or video that you have sent in View Once mode from the chat page once it has been sent. In contrast, if you accidentally send an image, you candelete the message before the recipient is able to open it.
You might be asking at this point if WhatsApp already has the ability to send messages that vanish. And it does, indeed. What distinguishes the new View Once functionality from fading messages, then? In this part, we shall examine that.
Steps to Send View Once Photos/ Videos in WhatsApp
The duration is the main distinction between fading messages and View Once. While photographs and videos designated as View Once will vanish once the recipient opens the media file, messages sent using WhatsApp’s disappearing messages mode will expire after 7 days. The new feature’s scope is another way it varies from the disappearing messages. Disappearing messages effect all of the conversation’s text and media files, whereas View Once is just available for photos and videos.
Here’s how to use the new View Once feature in private conversations and groups now that you know what it is and how it operates:
1. Launch a chat in WhatsApp and select an image or video using the media picker UI, exactly like you would when sending an image or video in a messaging service.
2. Tap the new View Once option located at the bottom right corner of the chatbox while you are on the page where you can add a caption before sending the photo or video. As soon as you switch it on, the icon will turn green.
3. As was already explained, the image you sent cannot be seen in the chat window. Instead, a clock icon and the text “Photo” will be displayed. Here is how the sender and recipient see an image sent in View Once mode. WhatsApp Sender (left) vs. Recipient in View Once mode (right)
Send Self-Destructing Photos and Videos in WhatsApp
4. The text Photo will automatically change to Opened to reflect the current status when the receiver views the media file. Regardless of the read receipts privacy option, this occurs. On both devices, I disabled read receipts so that I could see when the image had been opened. To access the detailed message info of the image or video, long-press the opened chat bubble and hit the I button.
