New WhatsApp beta lets you send self-destructing audio messages

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WhatsApp, the popular instant messaging platform on Android, is on a roll. The platform has been going through changes for the past few months, which includes HD video support introduced months ago.

Recently, the platform has introduced Passkey support for enhanced security, and now, it’s rolling out self-destructing audio messages. However, the feature is available only on the app’s beta version on Android and iOS. 

It’s the “View Once” feature for Voice Notes on WhatsApp

The new feature was first reported by the folks at WABetaInfo, who learned about its existence from users running the latest WhatsApp beta for Android V2.23.22.4 (V23.21.1.73 for iOS) on their smartphones.  

Users of these particular beta versions will be able to send self-destructing audio messages, and regarding the actual functionality, it’s similar to the “View Once” feature WhatsApp introduced back in 2021 for photos and videos. 

Users were able to send disappearing media using this mode for added privacy, but a year later, WhatsApp had to start blocking screenshots and screen recordings. 

According to the report, in this case, the new feature enables users to share voice notes with the ‘View Once’ mode. The website has also shared a screenshot, where we can clearly see the “1” button popping up at the time of recording a message. 

While this is a convenient feature, we are not sure when this new mode will be widely available, as the feature is only available to a handful of beta users on Android, and on iOS, only TestFlight provides access to the latest WhatsApp beta, which is already pretty difficult. 

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