WhatsApp photos and videos can now disappear after a single viewing
WhatsApp said that it would soon let users send disappearing photos and videos and this week the feature will be rolling out to everybody. Anyone using the Facebook-owned messaging app can share a photo or video in view once" mode, allowing a single viewing before the media in question goes poof. Media shared with view once" selected will show up as opened after the intended audience takes a peek.
New feature alert!
You can now send photos and videos that disappear after they've been opened via View Once on WhatsApp, giving you more control over your chats privacy! pic.twitter.com/Ig5BWbX1Ow
- WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) August 3, 2021
The company notes that the new feature could be helpful for an array of needs that definitely aren't sending nudes, like sharing a photo of some clothes you tried on or giving someone your wifi password. In the fine print, the company would like to remind you that just because the photos or video will vanish, that doesn't prevent someone from taking a screenshot (and you won't know if they do).
WhatsApp now lets you post ephemeral messages that disappear after 7 days
Facebook says the new feature is a step to give users even more control over their privacy," a song it's been singing since Mark Zuckerberg first declared a new privacy-focused vision" for the company back in 2019. Facebook has made a few gestures toward letting people wrest control of their online privacy since then, streamlining audience controls on its core app and enabling disappearing messages in WhatsApp.
The company has also been talking a big game about bringing end-to-end encryption to its full stable of messaging services, which it plans to make interoperable in the future. WhatsApp enabled end-to-end encryption by default back in 2016, but for Messenger and Instagram, the hallmark privacy measure could still be years out.
WhatsApp now lets you post ephemeral messages that disappear after 7 days