WhatsApp starts blocking screenshots for view once images and videos
In August 2021, WhatsApp took a cue from Snapchat andadded the ability to send view once media on its platform. The feature allows users to send photos and videos that can only be seen once—they self-destruct after that. It is a handy option to have, especially when sharing private and sensitive photos. But the Meta-owned company made a major oversight in how it implemented the feature: you could take screenshots of view once media, thereby defeating their entire purpose. A year later, in August 2022, Mark Zuckerberg announced thatscreenshot blocking was soon coming to WhatsAppfor self-destructing media. The feature is now showing up for some beta testers of the app.
WABetaInforeports that WhatsApp has released a new version of its view once media viewer with built-in screenshot blocking for selected beta users. Like on Google Pay and other apps, when you try to take a screenshot of a self-destructing media on the latest WhatsApp beta, a toast message will appear saying, “Can’t take screenshot due to security policy.” Using a third-party app or extension to bypass this security limitation won’t work either. You will end up with a black screenshot. Similarly, you cannot record the screen while opening a view once media. Unlike on Snapchat though, WhatsApp does not inform the sender of the media that the recipient tried to take a screenshot.
Despite WhatsApp testing these new privacy measures for self-destructing media, remember that it is always possible for the recipient to use a secondary phone to click a photo or record a video of the view once content.
For now, WhatsApp has rolled out the new self-destructing media viewer with screenshot blocking to selected Android testers running v2.22.22.3 or newer. A wider beta test should happen in the coming weeks before the feature is rolled out to the public.
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