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WhatsApp has been testing some additional features for its iOS app, including the ability to view photos and videos once sent, as well as a new, redesigned in-app notification.
According to the well-informed blog According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp will finally make the "View Once" feature available to iOS beta users with version 2.21.140.9, following its recent rollout to Android beta testers. This feature will allow users to use the Snapchat-like feature to send photos and videos that self-delete after they've been opened. Unlike Snapchat, WhatsApp will not transmit information about whether or not someone has taken a screenshot.
WhatsApp: This is why there is no screenshot warning
The reason is that there is no way to ensure whether a screenshot has been taken or not - according to WABetaInfo. Clever users could bypass it in various ways, so this function would simply be pointless. This is how the new feature is described:
When you send the media, it disappears from your phone, and it will also disappear from the recipient's phone once they open it. You'll be notified when the recipient has opened the photo/video, as the message bubble will display "Opened." Other details, such as who opened your photo/video, are available in the message info.
Another feature introduced in this beta is a redesigned in-app notification. With this update, users can now see more details in the notification banner.
The in-app notification has also been revised
The user can now expand the in-app notification to view the chat preview: The chat preview is not static like the one that appears when you look at a chat cell, so the user can scroll up and down in the view to see older and newer messages.
Although the in-app notification has been redesigned, WhatsApp explains that a message you read through it won't be marked as "read." For that to happen, the chat must be opened directly. It remains unclear when the update will be available to all WhatsApp users. However, it shouldn't take too long—after all, the beta phase is just getting underway. (Photo by Unsplash / Jeremy Zero)
