San Francisco: WhatsApp is reportedly working on improving the user experience for sharing view-once images and videos, a feature that allows users to send media that can be opened only once by the recipient.
According to details revealed by WABetaInfo, a prominent WhatsApp feature tracker, the messaging application is developing an interface enhancement that will simplify the process of sharing these view-once messages. This development comes as part of WhatsApp's ongoing efforts to offer users more intuitive and convenient ways to interact with the platform's features.
The upcoming interface tweak aims to enable users to share images or videos from their camera roll more efficiently, with just a couple of taps.
Currently, users need to tap the "1" icon within the caption window to initiate sending a view-once image or video. However, the latest version of the WhatsApp beta includes a new mechanism. Instead of tapping the "1" icon, users can press and hold the send button. This action triggers a pop-up menu featuring a single "send as view once" option located above the send button.
This new feature, which is currently in the development phase and has been spotted on WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.18.3, is not yet available for testing on the latest beta iterations for iOS and Android platforms. The deployment of this feature is anticipated to follow the pattern of previous updates, with initial availability for beta testers before a wider release to all users. However, it's important to note that the current version of view-once messaging is limited to images and videos, excluding GIFs.
Upon the feature's rollout to beta testers, those who participate in beta updates will notice a prompt appearing above the send button within the image/video sending preview. This prompt will inform users to "press and hold to send as a view once message." Subsequently, users can choose the option "send as view once."
WABetaInfo further suggests that WhatsApp intends to introduce a new design for the view-once feature itself. This redesign might lead to the removal of the existing "1" icon from the caption section. There are also indications that WhatsApp plans to expand the support for view-once messaging to encompass audio (voice notes) and text messages in the near future.
In recent reports, WhatsApp has also been exploring the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) for generating stickers. Users may soon be able to provide prompts such as "cat laughing on a skateboard," and the app's AI system would automatically create the corresponding stickers. Furthermore, WhatsApp is reportedly considering implementing a security feature that would allow users to secure their chats with a password when using WhatsApp Web, as disclosed by the feature tracker.