WhatsApp now lets users send voice messages as View Once

WhatsApp on Friday announced that it will begin allowing users to send voice messages that will disappear once they are listened to.

View once has already been a feature for photos and videos since 2021 and the instant messaging platform hopes bringing it to audio messages will add another layer of privacy to your messages.

In theory, this means that if you are reading out credit card details to a friend or if you are sharing sensitive information over voice messages with a friend, you have a little more peace of mind. Not that we recommend doing either of those things.

View once audio messages will be consistent with view once photos and videos and will clearly be marked with the “one-time” icon and can only be played one time.

You will need to select view once each time you want to send a view once photo or voice message. In order to send a view once audio, open an individual or group chat.

Then, tap the microphone and swipe up to lock the recording. After that, tap and hold record. Tap the “view once” icon after that. When that icon turns green, you are in view once mode. You can now hit send.

WhatsApp has said that once a user receives a view once photo, video, or audio message, they will need to open it within the next 14 days.

The message will expire from chat otherwise. View once messages cannot be forwarded, saved, or starred.

According to WhatsApp, view once media and voice messages can be restored from backups if the message is unopened at the time of backup.

Moreover, users will not be able to take screenshots of any view once media they receive. Once the photo, video, or audio message is opened, it will not be included in the backup and the same cannot be restored.