Home >News >WhatsApp voice notes can now self
WhatsApp voice notes can now self
2025-04-27 06:51:49

Imagine this: You're Ethan Hunt. You've just paraglided onto a busy New York City street. Your phone beeps. You pull it out of your pocket and fire up WhatsApp – you've got one voice note.

You hit play and it says, "This message will self-destruct in five seconds."

OK, we may have taken this a bit far, but something of the sort will soon be possible on WhatsApp. According to WaBetaInfo, the company is currently rolling out a "view once" mode for voice notes.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

It works just as you'd expect: A new "view once" icon is available in the chat bar while recording a voice note. If you tap it, you'll enable the "view once" mode. As a result, the recipient can only listen to it once. They will also not have the option to export, forward, save, nor record it. Hell, and even you won't be able to listen to it after you send it.

To see the icon, you'll have to start recording a voice note with a tap and then pull upwards with your finger to lock into recording mode first.


Related Stories
  • WhatsApp now lets you log in with passkeys on Android
  • WhatsApp may finally get a native iPad app. Here's how we know.
  • WhatsApp Channels let you follow celebrities and brands for updates
  • WhatsApp now lets you send videos in HD
  • WhatsApp now lets you share photos in glorious HD

The feature is currently available for some beta testers on iOS and Android. WaBetaInfo says it will become available to more users over the coming days.

SEE ALSO: WhatsApp will let you log into two accounts at once

WhatsApp has been on a roll lately. Earlier today, we wrote about a new feature that lets users with two SIM cards log into two WhatsApp accounts at once. A few days ago, WhatsApp launched passkey logins on Android. The company also recently launched a HD setting for sending photos and videos, as well as an AI sticker generator.