WhatsApp is having a busy week. The Android version of the popular messaging app brought support for passkeys on Tuesday and introduced a bottom tab interface earlier in the week. Now, the Meta-owned instant messaging platform is rolling out a feature that would allow users on both iOS and Android to set voice notes as ‘view once,’ just like the app already permits for other forms of media. The feature is currently in the beta testing phase and should arrive for the wider userbase in the coming days.
According to a report from WhatsApp feature tracker WABetaInfo, the app is rolling out a new privacy feature to beta users, bringing self-destructing voice notes. WhatsApp users can already choose the option to ‘view once’ while sending images and video to their contacts on the app. Now the same feature is set to arrive for voice notes as well.
The feature is reportedly rolling out to select beta testers on WhatsApp beta for Android via the Google Play Store and WhatsApp beta for iOS via the TestFlight app. Compatible updates for the ‘view once’ mode feature for audio messages include WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.21.15 and 2.23.22.4. On iOS, WhatsApp beta 23.21.1.73 is reportedly compatible with the update.
As mentioned before, the feature is currently only available to some beta testers and a wider rollout is expected in the coming days. Voice notes with the ‘view once’ mode on cannot be saved or forwarded to other users. WABetaInfo also included screenshots of the feature in testing, showing the familiar ‘view once’ icon in the voice message chat bar. Tapping the icon will send the voice note in the ‘view once’ mode. The voice note sent with the feature enabled cannot be replayed, saved or shared.
WhatsApp has been boosting its privacy features in recent times. The app was recently reported to be working on a new secret code feature for locked chats, which would allow users to create a custom password for their protected chat folders.
This week, WhatsApp also rolled out support for passkeys on Android, which lets users log back into their account securely using biometric authentication or their device PIN. With this feature, users could use the face unlock or the fingerprint scanner on their Android phones to log back in to their WhatsApp account with a passkey stored on their device.