The "View Once" functionality of WhatsApp, which is presently limited to media like photos and videos, might soon be extended to cover text messages as well. The feature is featured in the most recent beta of the WhatsApp Android app, according to WABetaInfo's findings. Users might eventually be able to send messages that are only viewable once before being permanently deleted.
Similar to the current "View Once" option, the new capability may one day be useful for sending sensitive information that you don't want the recipient to have ongoing access to, such passwords or credit card details. It is simple to imagine this information being sent as a fleeting text message. When announcing View Once for images and videos, WhatsApp even cited this use case—a user sending a photo of their Wi-Fi password—as an illustration of the feature’s potential utility.
You may make all of the chat’s messages vanish after a certain amount of time has passed in WhatsApp, thanks to their disappearing messages feature. On the other hand, the new “View Once” feature would only apply to a single message and not the entire discussion; messages would be deleted immediately after being read rather than after a certain amount of time.
According to WABetaInfo, the capability may be accessed through a future update to the app that adds a padlock to the traditional “send message” logo. The feature is still in the works and has yet to be available to beta testers, so the look may be revised before the final release.
If the recipient uses the most recent version of the WhatsApp programme, they cannot take a screenshot of a piece of view once media. However, it is presently being determined whether or not this similar protection will be extended to text messages in the future.
The feature’s expected release date and availability are unknown, as a WhatsApp representative declined to comment on WABetaInfo’s report on the upcoming feature.