Almost one year ago, Meta removed the ‘view-once’ feature for photos & videos from its WhatsApp apps for macOS & Windows. Loved by most, the removal of this feature was frowned upon. However, it appears that Meta is adding the feature back in the latest WhatsApp for Desktop update.
Initially spotted by WABetaInfo, the view-once feature is making its entry back into WhatsApp Desktop versions. This includes the official WhatsApp Windows & macOS apps along with the latest versions of WhatsApp Web.
WABeta further claims that the feature is currently ‘rolling out‘ and all compatible clients should receive it soon. Sending ‘view-once‘ messages will be possible from WhatsApp for iPad as well.
With ‘view-once‘ photos & videos, you can basically send any photo or video which can only be viewed once by the recipient. Similarly, if you receive a view-once message, you won’t be able to see it again after having a look. This is a killer feature to use, and it was removed citing ‘privacy concerns’, however, many users complained about its removal. Thankfully, it’s coming back.
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The importance of this feature is immeasurable. There are tons of situations in which you may need to send or receive ‘view-once’ messages containing photos or videos. Before this new change, if you were on WhatsApp web (or PC application) and looked at a chat where you were sent a ‘view-once’ message, you wouldn’t even be able to check it out and would require a phone to see the message. Now, the cross-platform messaging features of WhatsApp work just fine.
What are your thoughts on the addition of view-once photos & videos to WhatsApp for Windows (and macOS) applications? Isn’t it a nifty feature that enhances privacy on the online messaging platform? Let us know in the comments below.
