WhatsApp tests disappearing one-time text messages with screenshot blocking
WhatsApp is testing a new feature that would let users send text messages that disappear immediately after being read once. The option, already familiar from apps such as Telegram and Snapchat, is in advanced beta testing on both iOS and Android, and would extend WhatsApp’s existing one-time viewing tools for photos, videos, and voice notes.
According to WABetaInfo, which tracks WhatsApp development, the feature was found in the latest iOS beta, version 26.24.10.16, available through Apple’s TestFlight platform, as well as in an Android pre-release build. Screenshots from the beta versions show a new option called “send for one-time viewing” after a message is typed.
Once the recipient opens and reads the text, it disappears completely and cannot be accessed again. To protect privacy and prevent sharing, WhatsApp will block copying, forwarding, and sharing the text, and will also prevent screenshots and screen recordings while the message is visible.
Until now, users who wanted to share sensitive information temporarily had to rely on awkward workarounds, such as taking a screenshot of the text and sending it as a one-time media file. Building the feature directly into text messages would simplify that process and bring WhatsApp closer to competitors including Messenger, Instagram, and Telegram. No official launch date has been announced, but the advanced beta stage suggests a wider rollout could come soon.
