WhatsApp launches disappearing photos and video for all your sensitive (and sexy) messages
If one thing is clear from the surge of horny-on-main-ness during Twitter Fleets' last hurrah, it's that people love a disappearing thirst trap.
Joining the party, WhatsApp will now let you send private and disappearing photos and videos. So whether it's a steamy sext, something cute you'd like to delete later, or even sensitive content like passwords or financial details sent to someone you trust, WhatsApp is rolling out "View Once" photos and videos that will disappear from the chat after they've been opened.
Users need to have the latest version of WhatsApp on iOS or Android to use the View Once feature.
In 2020, WhatsApp added a new privacy feature that allowed people to change their settings so that messages would be automatically deleted after seven days. This new View Once feature allows you to send a pic or video that will disappear instantly, much like sending someone a Snap.
As the new feature's name suggests, photos and videos sent using the View Once method will disappear once they've been opened. Media won't be saved in the recipient's camera roll or their WhatsApp photos.
You'll only be able to see if a recipient has opened a View Once photo or video if you have read receipts switched on — it will be marked as "opened." And if you've received a View Once message, you'll have 14 days in which to open it before the media will expire from the chat.
In order for the messages to disappear after opening, you'll need to select "View Once media" each time you want to send a message like this.
It is possible for someone to screenshot the View Once content, and of course, it's also possible for someone to capture the message using another device before it disappears. For these reasons, WhatsApp urges caution when it comes to sending messages of this nature. "Only send photos or videos with View Once media enabled to trusted individuals," reads a blog on the new feature.
As with everything sent in WhatsApp, View Once messages are protected by end-to-end encryption so WhatsApp cannot see them, although it does share your metadata with Facebook.
Related Video: How to not get your social media hacked
Topics WhatsApp
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
