The world’s most popular messaging app, WhatsApp, is set to improve its ‘View Once’ feature. Following this new change, users will also be able to send text messages that recipients can read only once, after which the messages will disappear from the chat.
It is worth recalling that WhatsApp introduced the ‘View Once’ feature for photos and videos in August 2021. Its purpose was to protect users’ private information and prevent unnecessary media files from filling up their phone’s storage.
Now, according to a report by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is working on expanding this feature in its Android beta version. Through the new feature, users will be able to send text messages that will automatically disappear after being opened and read once.
The biggest benefit of this feature will be that users can use it to share sensitive information such as passwords, Wi-Fi login details and credit card information.
According to the media report, messages sent this way cannot be viewed again, copied, forwarded or saved. Taking screenshots of these messages will also be restricted.
This feature will be different from WhatsApp’s existing ‘Disappearing Messages’ feature. Under Disappearing Messages, messages disappear after a specified period, whereas the new ‘View Once Text’ feature will remove only a specific message after it has been read once.
However, the feature is currently being tested in the beta version. Its availability for regular users and the official launch date have not yet been announced.
