WhatsApp Begins Rolling Out ‘View Once’ Voice Messages

WhatsApp has begun rolling out View Once voice messages that disappear once they’ve been heard.

This feature is designed to add another layer of privacy to users’ voice messages when using the private messaging and calling app, WhatsApp parent company Meta said in a Thursday (Dec. 7) press release.

“For reading out your credit card details to a friend, or when you’re planning a surprise, you can now also share sensitive information over voice message with added peace of mind,” the release said.

When senders select the View Once feature, the voice messages are clearly marked with a “one-time” icon and can only be played one time, according to the release.

This new feature will be rolled out globally over the next few days, the release said.

“As with all your personal messages, WhatsApp protects your voice messages with end-to-end encryption by default, and View Once is just another example of our continued privacy innovation,” the release said.

The addition of this feature for voice messages comes about two years after WhatsApp introduced View Once for photos and videos, per the release.

The launch of View Once voice messages comes about six months after WhatsApp added another privacy-focused feature, a “private broadcasting” feature called Channels.

Channels allows users to get updates from people and organizations in a way that is separate from their chats with family, friends and groups. This privacy-focused feature does not reveal Channel administrator phone numbers and profile photos to followers, and blocks followers’ phone numbers from admins and other followers.

In another recent addition, WhatsApp teamed up with DocuSign to let businesses close deals via the messaging app. WhatsApp Delivery, launched in November, integrates DocuSign’s eSignature with WhatsApp to send users real-time notifications that link directly to agreements and allow for fast and secure signing.

PYMNTS Intelligence reported in January that 29% of consumers engaged in messaging daily. That made messaging the second-most-common digital daily activity, behind only streaming videos, according to “How the World Does Digital: Different Paths to Digita Transformation.”

The report also found that consumers’ engagement with messaging had increased by 2.2% compared to the previous quarter.