WhatsApp will soon let you block screenshots of ‘View Once’ messages

Last year, WhatsApp added disappearing photos and videos to chats. Copying a trend from Snapchat – and other Meta-owned apps –, the application would only warn users whether someone took a screenshot of a photo that should have disappeared. Now, the company is finally readying a feature to prevent users to record content that should only be seen once.

According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is working on the ability to block screenshots and screen recording on both Android and iOS apps. With beta 22.21.0.71 for iOS users and beta 2.22.22.3 for Android phones, WhatsApp is rolling out this new feature to a few users.

As shown by the publication in the screenshot below, it will not be possible to “take screenshots and screen recordings to view once images and videos.” WABetaInfo notes, on the other hand, that people may still use a secondary phone to record the content.

Here’s how this feature will work, according to the publication:

• Screen recording to view once images and videos are blocked by default;
• You can still take a screenshot of a conversation since this feature is limited to viewing disappearing images and videos;
• The attempt to take a screenshot is always blocked but it’s not notified to the user that sent the message;
• It isn’t possible to forward, export, or save disappearing images.

As of now, it’s unclear when WhatsApp will release this feature to all users, but since it’s already being made available to beta testers, it shouldn’t take that long.

Over this year, WhatsApp has expanded the number of people in a group, added Reactions to chats, and increased the number of participants in video and audio calls, which remain free and with an unlimited time of use.

BGR will let you know once this feature rolls out to all users and how to take advantage of it when WhatsApp updates its FAQ page.