Apps

WhatsApp users on iOS are getting self-destructing messages

Sadly it’s only available to beta users for the time being.

by
Joe Rice-Jones
July 13, 2021

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WhatsApp users on Android have had self-destructing messages for the better part of a year, and now some iOS users can join in on the fun. You’ll have to be a beta user of WhatsApp on iOS, which currently isn’t accepting new testers, and even then, only some beta users have received the update yet.

First noticed by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp’s “view once” feature lets people send photos or videos that disappear as soon as they’re viewed by the recipient.

If you have the feature, the first time you try to send a message, including a video or photo, you’ll get a pop-up explaining how the feature works. After that, you’ll see a blue circle with a “1” inside your message box.

When the recipient opens the message, it will notify you as usual. However, once that first view is over, it’ll delete the message content from both the sender’s and recipient’s devices. Note that it won’t lock out system screenshot functionality, so the recipient can still screenshot before the message disappears.

It’s currently rolling out to iOS beta users right now, so if you’re a beta user and don’t see the feature yet, you’ll have to wait a little longer. There’s no way to trigger WhatsApp to give you the “view once” feature, and even being on the same WhatsApp version doesn’t guarantee the feature will appear.

We don’t currently know when WhatsApp plans to bring it to the public app version.

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