WhatsApp beta iOS gets View Once feature for disappearing photos and videos

The WhatsApp beta for iOS is getting support for the View Once feature. This automatically deletes photos and videos after they have been viewed once by the recipient. WhatsApp made the feature available to Android as a beta at the end of June.

The View Once mode should be available to ‘many’ WhatsApp beta users on iOS, writes WABetaInfo. iOS users can sign up for WhatsApp beta testing via TestFlight. The feature would be available in version 2.21.140.9. It is not yet known when the feature will be available in the stable version of the app. Mark Zuckerberg already confirmed in an interview with WABetaInfo in early June that the company is working on the View Once feature.

The feature works the same on iOS as it does on Android, where the feature has been tested since June 30. Users can send a photo or video, which will be automatically deleted after being viewed by the recipient. Users with access to the feature will see a special button when they select a photo or video to send. The sender can also see when the recipient has opened the photo or video.

WhatsApp already has a disappearing message feature, although it works differently. Such messages will be deleted after seven days, not immediately after being viewed. The View Once mode for photos and videos and the disappearing messages feature do not protect against screenshots. The sender will also not be notified if a screenshot of a photo or video is taken.