Enabling one-time viewing feature for images and videos in Messenger.

Meta company is constantly adding new features and properties to the “Facebook Messenger” application in order to enhance user experience and keep up with the changes happening in its sibling “WhatsApp”. One of the latest features added was the ability to send high-quality photos, as well as the ability to edit messages after sending them and disable message read indicators. Recently, a new update was released for the application introducing the “View-Once Media” feature, allowing users to send photos and videos that disappear from the chat after the recipient opens them. This feature enhances privacy and gives Facebook Messenger users more control over the content they share, so let’s explore how to use it.

As mentioned, this feature serves as a means to protect privacy when sending media containing sensitive data such as passwords or credit card numbers. When activated, you can send photos and videos in Messenger chats and the recipient can only view them once. After viewing the content, the media is deleted and not saved in the recipient’s photo album or gallery on their phone. The recipient also cannot forward, share, or copy the media, as well as capture a screenshot or screen recording of the media that is viewed once. However, it is still possible for the recipient to capture a photo or video of the media, for example, with another camera or device, before it disappears, so the privacy of the content cannot be guaranteed even after activating the feature.

Open the Facebook Messenger app on your Android or iPhone, then go to the conversation where you want to send media that will be viewed once, whether it’s a one-on-one conversation or a group chat. Then, click on the “Photos” icon at the bottom next to the text input field, then select the image or video from the photo library in front of you. After selecting a specific image from your phone’s photo library, click on the “Edit” button, then you will find the “Keep in chat” option at the bottom, which is the default mode for sending the item in the traditional way. However, when you click on this option for the first time, a window will appear explaining what happens when sending media that can be viewed only once, which is the same instructions we explained earlier, so click “OK.”

Make sure the feature is activated by the appearance of the icon containing the number “1” surrounded by a ring resembling a stopwatch, as shown in the image above. Then click the “Send” button to display the message in the chat interface, where the view once icon will indicate that a photo or video has been sent, but you won’t be able to see the media itself for privacy reasons. Now, when the recipient opens the image or video, they can view the content normally, but when they try to take a screenshot or screen record your once-viewed media, a message will appear stating that this action is prohibited. Note that you will not be notified if the person you are messaging with tries to take a screenshot, as Messenger only displays this warning.