WhatsApp has started rolling out view-once text messages to some Android beta users, according to WABetaInfo. The addition appears in beta version 2.26.45.6 and extends the app's existing view-once options for photos, videos and voice messages to plain text.
To send a view-once text, type the message, press and hold the send button and select View Once. The first time you use the option, WhatsApp displays information about view-once texts; click 'OK' to proceed.
How view-once texts work
Text sent as View Once does not automatically appear in the chat. You must tap the entry to read it, and it opens in a separate interface. When the recipient closes it they cannot open it again. WhatsApp marks the message as opened, so the sender sees that it was read provided read receipts are enabled.
Once opened, the message is removed for both sender and recipient and cannot be copied, forwarded, or saved.
WhatsApp blocks screenshots and screen recordings in the app while the recipient is viewing a view-once message, which aims to protect sensitive content. That protection does not stop someone from using an external camera to record what appears on screen; neither WhatsApp nor the sender can prevent external recording.
WABetaInfo reports the feature is appearing for some users on WhatsApp for Android beta version 2.26.45.6 and that view-once text messages cannot be scheduled. Whether that restriction changes before a public rollout remains to be seen.
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