NadeemiBeta

WhatsApp "View Once" for Text Messages: How to Send One, What the Other Person Can Do, and When You'll Get It

By The Nadeemi team · Checked on

Part of: Is it encrypted? The app-by-app guide

Checked against WABetaInfo's report as covered by The Star (12 November 2026) and other coverage, 13 November 2026. This is a beta feature: details can change before release.

WhatsApp has had View Once for photos, videos and voice notes for a while. Now it is testing the same thing for plain text: a message the other person can open one time, after which it is gone from the chat.

Short answer: View Once text is in testing for some Android beta users (WhatsApp beta 2.26.45.6, spotted 12 November 2026). You type a message, long-press the green send button and pick View Once. The person you send it to can read it once; they cannot copy, forward or save it, and WhatsApp blocks screenshots and screen recordings of it. There is no date yet for everyone, and none for iPhone.

How to send a View Once text (if you have it)

  1. Open a chat and type your message.
  2. Long-press the send button (the green arrow).
  3. Choose View Once from the menu.

If the menu does not show the option, your app does not have the feature yet. Even testers do not all get it: The Star's own beta build 2.26.45.10 did not have it.

What the other person can and cannot do

According to the beta report:

What no setting can stop: someone taking a photo of the screen with another phone, or simply remembering what you wrote. Treat View Once as "less likely to be kept", not "impossible to keep".

Good uses, and bad ones

Good: a Wi-Fi password for a guest, a door code, a one-time code you send to a family member, a note you don't want sitting in a shared phone's chat history. WABetaInfo mentions passwords and one-time codes as the main idea.

Not so good: anything the other person will need later (an address, a booking reference). They cannot scroll back to it.

And never send a one-time login code you received from a service to someone else, View Once or not: that is how most account-takeover scams work.

View Once vs disappearing messages

The full comparison across apps is in disappearing messages explained.

When will everyone get it?

Unknown. WhatsApp has not announced it; it is a beta test on Android only, and it is unclear if and when iPhone will get it. Features often appear for a few testers, vanish in a later build, then return. If you want to try betas on Android, you can join from WhatsApp's page in the Google Play Store, when places are open.

Where Nadeemi fits

Nadeemi is the app we build, so weigh this section accordingly. Nadeemi is a free chat app for friends and family: chats, group chats, voice notes, photos, voice and video calls between two people, and disappearing messages for a chat. It does not have View Once and it does not block screenshots. What it does differently: you sign up with a username and password, no phone number (email optional), there are no ads, it works in Arabic and English, and you can bring your group with one link.

FAQ

Does WhatsApp have View Once for text? It is being tested with some Android beta users (version 2.26.45.6, reported 12 November 2026). It is not available to everyone yet.

How do I send a View Once text on WhatsApp? Type the message, long-press the send button and choose View Once. If you don't see it, you don't have the feature yet.

Can someone screenshot a View Once text? WhatsApp blocks screenshots and screen recordings of View Once messages. Someone could still photograph the screen with another device.

Can a View Once text be forwarded or copied? No. The beta report says the recipient cannot copy, forward or save it.

Is View Once text coming to iPhone? It is unclear if and when. Only some Android beta users have it now.

Sources (checked 13 November 2026)

Names of other apps are trademarks of their owners, used only for comparison. Nadeemi is not affiliated with any of them.

Drafted with AI help and checked by a person on the date above.

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