WhatsApp, how to send self-deleting photos and videos

The option is available to everyone and allows you to send files and videos that self-delete after being viewed. Here’s how to do it.

Photos and videos that self-delete after being sent and viewed . This is the latest addition to WhatsApp that allows users to send multimedia content that is automatically destroyed after being viewed, a function that was already anticipated in the spring and which is now available to everyone globally. You just have to take your smartphone – Android or iPhone that is – and try the new function.

How to send self-deleting photos and videos on WhatsApp

The operation is very simple: just open the recipient’s chat and choose to send photos or videos as you usually do; at this point, you can click the number “1” in the bar dedicated to the caption to activate or deactivate the function that will automatically delete the message once sent; finally a message will confirm the activation of the “ view once ” sending mode .

The photo will not appear in the sender’s chat (who will no longer be able to see it again) and when the recipient has opened it, the message “ open message ” will appear . The confirmation comes only if the recipient has the active read receipt, the so-called blue ticks. From that moment, the content will be automatically deleted from the device memory  and if the media file is not opened within 14 days of sending it, it will no longer be possible to view it.

However, nothing prevents the recipient from taking a screenshot or screen recording to keep a copy of the file sent.

As for the backup, the media files sent with this option can be restored if the message has not yet been opened when the backup is made. If the photo or video has already been opened, the media file will not be backed up and cannot be restored.

Finally, as for the privacy options , messages sent with the “ view once ” option are encrypted and can be saved for a few weeks on the WhatsApp servers. Furthermore, on the company’s website, we read that “ if a recipient decides to report a multimedia file with the view once option, this file will be made available for WhatsApp