WhatsApp, part of Meta, has begun testing a new view‑once text feature in its latest iOS beta and a pre‑release Android build. After drafting a message, users can toggle “Send as view‑once,” letting the recipient open the text once before it disappears. The app also blocks screenshots and screen recordings to keep content private for each conversation every time it.

This move brings WhatsApp in line with rivals like Messenger, Instagram, Snapchat and Telegram, which have long offered view‑once messages. Previously, users resorted to taking screenshots of texts and sending them as disappearing images. By embedding the feature natively, WhatsApp removes the workaround and tightens control over transient content for their users every day in the global messaging ecosystem today.

The feature is currently in Apple’s Test Flight as iOS 26.24.10.16, signaling a potential rollout shortly after the beta stabilizes. Users will soon have a single, secure channel for sending fleeting messages without the need for external tricks. WhatsApp’s addition could shift privacy expectations across the instant‑messaging market, tightening how temporary content is shared for every global community of messengers.