WhatsApp will soon let you send self-destructing voice notes that vanish straight after they’ve been played

Whether it’s a juicy bit of gossip or an embarrassing story, there are often times when you want to share a story via voice note but don’t want it to stick around.

But the days of quickly deleting your voice note could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to WhatsApp.

The messaging app is working on the ability to send self-destructing voice notes WABetaInfo.

These voice notes can only be played once and cannot be exported, forwarded or saved.

“This mode effectively minimizes the chance of unauthorized access or subsequent listening, providing a new layer of privacy for sensitive and confidential information,” WABetaInfo explains.

Whether it’s a juicy bit of gossip or an embarrassing story, there are often times when you want to share a story via voice note but don’t want it to stick around. But the days of quickly deleting your voice note could soon be a thing of the past thanks to WhatsApp (stock image)

WhatsApp users can already send ‘View Once’ messages, videos and photos, which disappear from the chat after the recipient opens them once.

WABetaInfo has now discovered the option to send View Once voice notes while it is being tested in the latest versions of WhatsApp beta for Android and iOS.

The leaker posted a screenshot of the new tool, showing the View Once icon in the chat bar while recording a voice note.

“Tapping this icon will send the voice note once in playback mode, so the recipient won’t be able to export, forward, save, and record it,” it explains.

“Once you send the voice note while playback is enabled, you will no longer be able to listen to it and the recipient will no longer be able to listen to the voice note after it is closed.”

While the feature has yet to be rolled out to all users, several users took to X (formerly Twitter) to discuss their excitement.

“Seems like a nice option for privacy,” one user tweeted, while another called it a “great feature.”

To send View Once photos and videos, open the WhatsApp app and tap the chat in which you want to send your message.

WABetaInfo posted a screenshot of the new tool, showing the View Once icon in the chat bar while recording a voice note

Tap the camera icon and then take a photo. Alternatively, you can select an existing photo or video from your gallery.

Before you click send, tap the View once icon at the bottom of the screen. This looks like a ‘1’ in a circle. Finally, tap Send.

The photo or video can then only be opened once and will not be saved to the recipient’s Photos or Gallery.

However, WhatsApp emphasizes that this feature is not a fail-safe method.

“Please note that there are other ways your media can be stored,” WhatsApp added.

“For example, recipients may take a photo or video of what you’re watching as soon as you view it with a camera or other device before it disappears, so only send it to people you trust.”

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