View once sends a photo, video or voice message that disappears from the chat after the other person opens it one time. It is useful for things like a document photo you don't want saved in someone's gallery.
Send a view once photo or video
- Open the chat and tap the attach button (paperclip on Android, + on iPhone), then Camera or Gallery (iPhone: Photos).
- Take or choose the photo or video.
- Next to the caption box, tap the small circle with a 1 in it. It turns green, and WhatsApp shows that the photo is set to view once.
- Tap Send. In the chat it shows as a "Photo" or "Video" with the 1 icon, not as a picture.
Send a view once voice message
- Press and hold the microphone, then slide up to the lock so you can talk hands-free.
- When you finish, tap the 1 icon so it turns green.
- Tap Send.
What the other person can and cannot do
- They tap the message to open it, look or listen, then close it. After that it shows as Opened and cannot be opened again.
- WhatsApp does not save it to their gallery, and screenshots and screen recordings are blocked for view once media.
- They cannot forward, star or share it.
- If they have read receipts on, you will see Opened in your chat when they open it.
- If it is not opened within 14 days, it disappears from the chat.
What view once does NOT protect against
Someone can still take a photo of their screen with another phone or camera. So view once lowers the risk but never removes it. Never send anything you would be badly hurt by if it got out.
If it doesn't work
- No 1 icon: update WhatsApp. On WhatsApp Web and the computer app, view once media can be sent, but opening view once messages may only work on the phone.
- "Media not available": the message was already opened, or it expired after 14 days. Ask the sender to send it again.
- Want to keep it: ask the sender to send it normally. View once cannot be changed after sending.
Safety tip
Scammers sometimes send a view once photo of a fake "police notice", "court paper" or "bank letter" so you cannot show it to anyone later. If a message scares you into paying money quickly, stop and call your family or the real office first. Read more in WhatsApp scam messages.
This is GroupChatOn’s own easy guide. We are not WhatsApp and are not linked with WhatsApp or Meta. WhatsApp sometimes changes its menus: if a button looks different on your phone, update WhatsApp from the Play Store or App Store.
Still stuck?
Contact support. Tell us which tool or page you were using, what you tapped, what you saw, and your phone or computer and browser (for example: Android phone, Chrome). We reply by email.
Questions, or an error not listed here?
Tell us in the comments: what you were doing, the exact message you saw, and your device and browser. We read every comment and add new fixes to this article.