WhatsApp is developing a new privacy feature that will let iPhone users send view-once text messages. The feature, currently under development in the iOS beta app, expands WhatsApp’s existing view-once functionality beyond photos, videos, and voice notes.
Once available, users will be able to send text messages that can only be opened a single time before becoming inaccessible. The feature is expected to work in both individual chats and group conversations.
According to details uncovered in the latest WhatsApp beta for iOS, users will be able to enable the feature by long-pressing the Send button after typing a message. A new “Send as view once” option will then appear, allowing the message to be delivered with one-time access enabled.
View-once text messages will include the same privacy protections currently available for view-once media. Recipients will not be able to copy, forward, save, or share the message after receiving it. WhatsApp is also expected to block screenshots and screen recordings, making it more difficult to preserve the content after it has been viewed.
The feature aims to provide a dedicated solution for sharing sensitive or temporary information. Until now, users who wanted to send text that disappeared after being viewed often relied on workarounds, such as placing text inside an image and sending it using WhatsApp’s existing view-once photo feature.
WhatsApp has also been testing a related enhancement to disappearing messages. Earlier beta versions introduced an “After Reading” option that allows messages to automatically disappear after a recipient has opened them, rather than after a fixed period of time. Users can reportedly choose whether those messages disappear five minutes, one hour, or 12 hours after being read.
The new view-once text message feature takes the concept a step further by making messages inaccessible immediately after they have been opened. Unlike disappearing messages, which remain visible until a timer expires, view-once messages are designed for single-use access.
WhatsApp has not announced a release date for the feature. It remains under development and is not currently available to beta testers. The company is expected to introduce it in a future beta update before a wider rollout to all users.
