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The popular feature on WhatsApp is used by billions to share photos (Photo: Jamie Street/Unsplash_
WhatsApp users rely on the feature to send photos or videos for view once after which it expires. But new details raise concerns about the feature and its privacy.
WhatsApp introduced a view one photo feature which works as the name suggests. You share a photo with someone and they can only view it once after which it expires. But it seems this privacy-centric feature on the messaging has a major security flaw that makes it visible on the web app as well.
Security researcher named Tal Be’ery is credited with finding the issue and he claims that not only can a person view the photo/video on the desktop but also save it on their device. He has been even quoted saying by TechCrunch here, that WhatsApp should remove the feature itself rather than trying to give a false sense of privacy to its users. ““Currently, WhatsApp’s ‘View Once’ is a blunt form of false privacy and should either be thoroughly fixed or abandoned,” he is quoted saying in a post.
As you might know, the view once ensures that the person receiving the content is not able to save or take a screenshot, but these recent developments will surely be of concern to billions who put the feature to use on a daily basis. WhatsApp is working on bringing the view once feature to the web app in the near future and the beta tests have already started, but the flaw is likely to push the timeline and rightly so.
For now, Be’ery has informed Meta about the issue with WhatsApp’s feature earlier this year and the report says the company is working on a fix for the issue and will roll out an update to close the flaw. Till then, we highly suggest you to be careful while sharing content through the privacy feature and only share it with people that you can trust.
