The View Once feature will cause media in WhatsApp to vanish after viewing
Snapchat popularized this method of sharing media. When you designate a photo or video as View Once, the recipient will only be able to view that media one time before it disappears. This is so that people can send private or sensitive content to others without the threat of someone stumbling upon it later. The mechanics of this feature are pretty straightforward, and WhatsApp took extra care to make sure that this is air-tight. To start off, if you want to send a View Once photo or video, you will need to set it that way. The content is protected by end-to-end encryption. This means that (according to the company, at least) even WhatsApp can not see your photos. When a person receives a View Once video or photo, they can not star, or send it to other people. If you receive a video, you will not have the ability to fast-forward at all. If you receive a View Once photo or video, you will have only 14 days to view it. After that point, the media will expire, and you’ll lose the ability to watch it. If View Once media is backed up, it can be restored, but it can only be restored if it has not been viewed.
There may still be loopholes that people could use
While this all sounds nice, there are still ways that people could get around the View Once barricade. There’s the tried and true method of taking screenshots of the content. Worryingly, Facebook did not mention any measures taken to stop screenshots. This means that people could possibly be able to take screenshots of the media, thus eliminating the purpose of the feature altogether. There’s also the possibility of people using screen recording apps to capture videos. If these are left unchecked, people can have their private pictures and videos archived. There’s a lot to like about this new View Once feature from WhatsApp, letting people keep their private photos private. The private messenger market is full of competitors like Telegram and Slack. If you want to try out this feature, the latest update should be live now. If not, then it won’t be long.
