WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. One of the key features of WhatsApp is the ability to send videos to your contacts. However, there may be times when you want to send a video that the recipient can only view once before it disappears. Here’s what you need to know about sending videos on WhatsApp that can only be viewed once.
Understanding View Once Videos
WhatsApp introduced the “view once” feature for videos in 2021. When you send a video using this feature, the recipient can only view it a single time before it disappears from the chat. Some key things to know about view once WhatsApp videos:
- After the recipient opens the video, they can only view it once. After watching it, the video will be unavailable.
- Like regular videos, the recipient will get a preview of the video thumbnail before opening it. This allows them to decide if they want to view it.
- Once the video disappears after being viewed, the recipient cannot retrieve it or watch it again. It will be gone from the chat.
- You cannot forward, save, star, share, or pin view once videos.
- If you don’t open the view once video within 14 days of it being sent, it will expire and disappear from the chat.
The view once feature is designed to share videos that you don’t want to stick around permanently, like something silly or sensitive. It allows you to share temporarily viewable videos that provide more privacy.
Sending a View Once Video on Android
If you have an Android phone, sending a view once video on WhatsApp only takes a few taps:
- Open your WhatsApp chat with the recipient you want to send the video to.
- Tap the Attach button (paperclip icon).
- Select Video to pick a video from your gallery.
- After picking the video, tap the 1 icon at the bottom.
- This enables view once mode. You’ll see a caption below the video preview say “Video unavailable after first view.”
- Tap Send to deliver the video. The recipient will now only be able to watch it once.
Once you send the view once video, the video thumbnail will be blurred out for you so that you don’t accidentally re-watch it and waste the one view.
Sending a View Once Video on iPhone
The process for sending a view once video is very similar on the iPhone:
- Open the WhatsApp chat with the contact you want to send the video to.
- Tap the + icon in the text box.
- Tap Photo & Video Library.
- Select the video you want to send from your gallery.
- With the video preview open, tap the 1 icon at the bottom left.
- You’ll see the caption “Video unavailable after first view” confirming view once mode is enabled.
- Hit Send to deliver the video. The recipient can watch it once before it disappears.
Much like on Android, the video thumbnail will become blurred out after you send it so that you don’t accidentally re-open your own view once video.
Setting View Once as the Default for Videos
If you want all videos you send to automatically disappear after being viewed once, you can enable this as the default setting:
- Open WhatsApp Settings.
- Tap Account > Privacy.
- Enable Default Media Visibility.
- Select View Once.
Now anytime you send a video in WhatsApp, it will be set as a view once video that disappears after the recipient watches it once. You don’t have to toggle the view once button each time.
Seeing If Someone Opened Your View Once Video
There’s no built-in way to tell if someone has opened your view once video in WhatsApp. However, here are some clues that indicate they likely watched it:
- The video thumbnail disappears and is replaced by a blurred out thumbnail.
- You see the blue double check marks indicating the video has been delivered and read.
- The recipient replies referencing the contents of the video.
While not guaranteed, these signs suggest your recipient has likely opened and watched your view once video before it disappeared.
Recovering a Deleted View Once Video
Since view once videos disappear forever after being watched, is there any way to recover them? Unfortunately, there is no built-in way to retrieve an expired view once video in WhatsApp.
However, here are some tips to salvage view once videos:
- On Android, enable WhatsApp chat backups to Google Drive, which may store past videos.
- On iPhone, enable WhatsApp iCloud chat backups to preserve old videos.
- Use a third party app like iMazing to extract WhatsApp chat backups and find deleted videos.
- Connect your phone to a computer and use data recovery software to scan for video files.
While not guaranteed, with the right backup setup and tools you may be able to recover previously sent view once videos through backups or file scans even after they have expired.
View Once Limitations
While view once videos provide a handy way to share temporary videos, there are some key limitations to be aware of:
- Recipients can screenshot or record the video before it disappears.
- View once videos can still be downloaded by the recipient from chat backups.
- Malicious apps could potentially intercept and save view once videos.
- Forensic data recovery methods may be able to retrieve expired videos.
So while view once provides some level of ephemeral sharing, a determined recipient could still potentially recover the video through unauthorized means.
Troubleshooting View Once Videos
Sometimes issues can arise when sending or viewing view once videos. Here are some common problems and fixes:
Can’t Enable View Once
If the view once toggle is greyed out when sending a video, the recipient may be on an old version of WhatsApp that doesn’t support the feature. They’ll need to update to the latest version of the app to view videos that disappear after being viewed once.
Video Plays But Doesn’t Disappear
If your view once video keeps re-playing instead of disappearing after being opened, your connection likely dropped out when the recipient first viewed it. Ask them to close and re-open the video to trigger the view once behavior.
Can’t View Expired Video
There is no way to retrieve an expired view once video if you didn’t watch it in time. However, gently ask the sender to re-send the video if it’s important and you want another chance to view it.
Recipients Can Keep Re-Watching
If your recipients seem to be able to re-watch your view once videos, they may be using a modified version of WhatsApp that disables the view once restriction. Avoid sending sensitive view once videos to suspicious contacts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you save a view once WhatsApp video?
No, WhatsApp does not allow you to directly save, forward, or otherwise re-share a view once video. After watching it, the video disappears from the chat. However, recipients may be able to use unauthorized workarounds to record or download the video before it expires.
Do WhatsApp view once videos work in groups?
Yes, you can send a view once video in a WhatsApp group chat. Once any group member opens the video, it will expire and no one else in the group will be able to watch it. This allows you to share ephemeral videos with multiple people at once.
Can you see who opened a view once video?
WhatsApp does not show who specifically opened and watched a view once video in a group. However, you can see the double check marks turn blue when group members open the video, indicating it has been viewed.
How long do WhatsApp view once videos last?
An unopened view once video will expire after 14 days. Once opened, the video disappears almost instantly after being watched one time by the recipient. There is no way to retrieve the video after it has expired.
Can police recover expired WhatsApp videos?
Potentially yes, if they gain access to your phone or your recipient’s phone. Police have advanced forensic tools that may be able to recover deleted files like expired videos. So view once does not guarantee absolute privacy from law enforcement.
Conclusion
WhatsApp’s view once video feature provides a convenient way to share ephemeral videos that disappear after being watched one time. While not foolproof, it allows you to send private or sensitive videos that don’t stick around permanently in chats. Just be mindful of its limitations and keep in mind determined recipients have some workaround methods to potentially recover expired view once videos. But when used appropriately, it adds a nice layer of privacy and discretion to your WhatsApp video sharing.