Overview
- Specialist tracker WABetaInfo identified hints of the feature in the WhatsApp Android beta v2.26.22.7 that were reported by multiple outlets on Friday, June 5, 2026.
- The proposed flow would let a sender long-press the send button and choose a “send as view-once” option so the recipient can open the text only once before it disappears.
- Reports say view-once texts would block in-app saving, copying, forwarding and take screenshots or screen recordings, though those protections do not stop an external camera or similar workarounds.
- The feature remains under development and is not yet available to users or beta testers, and WhatsApp has not given an official release date or confirmation.
- Users can already mimic single-view text by sending text as a photo caption, and WhatsApp has added view-once for photos and videos in 2021 and voice notes in 2023 while it also tests blurred 'spoiler' text.