How to Send WhatsApp Photos and Videos “That Disappear When Viewed Once”

You and I can share a photo or video on WhatsApp that can disappear once the receiver has viewed or watched it the first time. 

This feature is available right now, and is useful, for example, when you mistakenly send a photo that has a password on it, or perhaps, you sent a sensitive video that you don’t want to share with others. When sent, the image or video will show up as opened after it has been viewed once. 

Here’s How It Works 

First, make sure you update your Android phone or iPhone to the latest version 2.21.150. Search for available updates in the App Store or Google Play Store and WhatsApp will appear in the list of updates. 

It is easy to do. When you try to send a photo or video, you will see an icon with the number 1 in the text box. Once you click it, the feature is enabled with a pop-up message to confirm that the media is going to show only once to the recipient before it disappears again. 

That’s all. What makes this feature even more useful is that there are no settings to enable it. Every time you send an image with an attachment, it appears on the same screen.  

It’s important to note 

Once sent, a “view once” image or video, cannot be viewed again by the sender. The photo or video will also not be saved into the receiver’s gallery. 

Apart from that, users won’t have the ability to forward, save, star, or share photos or videos that are sent or received once “view once” has been enabled. And if not opened after 14 days of being sent, it will expire (or disappear) from the chat. That said, “view once” media can be restored from backup – but only if the message is unopened at the time of backup.