WhatsApp will let you check view-once media on linked devices

For privacy reasons, WhatsApp has long barred users from checking view-once media on companion devices. So, if someone sends you an expiring photo while texting on your computer, you’d have to take out your primary iOS or Android phone to view the message. Fortunately, the Meta-owned messaging app may finally be addressing this nuisance.

According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp version 2.25.3.7 beta for Android lets select users check view-once attachments on their companion devices. So, those receiving ephemeral media, like voice notes, photos, and videos, can now view them without needing their primary phones. This should reduce the friction and make using linked devices independently more manageable.

This change could have a couple of drawbacks, however. If it expands to the desktop client, it will make it easier for bad actors to save copies of view-once media. After all, recording a computer screen with one’s smartphone is far more convenient and doable than shooting a phone’s display using a webcam.

Similarly, a user could presumably download the expiring attachment to the primary phone, disconnect it from the internet, and then view the media. As long as the primary phone is offline, linked devices could still mark the message as unseen, letting them view it more than once. WhatsApp could theoretically patch this by requiring an active internet connection on any device when attempting to open ephemeral messages.

Ultimately, you shouldn’t send sensitive media to people you don’t trust, as there are numerous loopholes to save copies elsewhere. The view-once feature is designed to exclude certain attachments from the chat history rather than fully prevent others from redistributing them.