WhatsApp Developing New Ephemeral Feature for iOS
▼ Summary
– WhatsApp is developing a “view-once” feature for text messages, allowing them to disappear after being read.
– This expands on existing ephemeral options for photos, videos, and voice notes, and is separate from the previously reported “After reading” timer.
– Users will set a text message as view-once by long-pressing the Send button and selecting “Send as view once.”
– The feature will work in individual chats and groups, but not in channels due to their broadcast nature.
– The view-once text feature is currently in development and not yet available to beta testers.
A new ephemeral messaging feature is taking shape within WhatsApp for iOS, building on the platform’s recent push toward more private, self-destructing conversations. The development follows last month’s discovery of an “After reading” option in the app’s TestFlight beta, which would let messages vanish once the recipient opens them.
Currently, WhatsApp’s disappearing messages tool offers timers of 24 hours, 7 days, and 90 days. The upcoming “After reading” setting, still not widely available, would add a fourth option that deletes messages immediately after they are viewed. Now, WABetaInfo reports that WhatsApp is also working on view-once text messages, expanding a capability already present for photos, videos, and voice notes.
Here is how the new feature would function. After typing a message, users can long-press the Send button to reveal a dropdown menu. Selecting “Send as view once” marks the message so that the recipient can open it only a single time. Once read, the text becomes permanently inaccessible. This option will be available in both individual chats and group conversations, mirroring the existing view-once experience for media. It will not, however, be supported in channels, where the broadcast nature of communication makes ephemeral messages impractical.
For users who currently work around the limitation by adding text to an image and sending it as view-once media, this direct text-based ephemeral messaging should be a welcome addition. According to WABetaInfo, the feature “is currently in development, and it is not available for beta testing.” Still, it is expected that some WhatsApp TestFlight users will gain access soon, paving the way for a broader rollout later on.
(Source: 9to5Mac)
