WhatsApp has added a new “View Once” privacy mode for photos, which deletes them after they are opened.
The View Once feature marks photos with a “one-time” icon and deletes them after they have been opened once or have gone unopened for two weeks, which Facebook says gives users more control over privacy.
“For example, you might send a View Once photo of some new clothes you’re trying on at a store, a quick reaction to a moment in time, or something sensitive like a Wi-Fi password,” the company said.
While the photos are protected by the same end-to-end encryption as all WhatsApp messages, Facebook does warn that the feature offers no protection against viewers taking a screenshot or snapping a photo with another device; it also notes that encrypted material may be kept on WhatsApp servers for “a few weeks” after it is sent.
The new feature is a logical progression from disappearing messages, introduced last year, which will delete messages in conversations after seven days.
