WHATSAPP is introducing a genius system to keep you safe – but it’s not watertight.
The clever system stops people from taking screenshots of your View Once messages.
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View Once is a “disappearing text” system built for sensitive texts.
Maybe you’re sharing bank details, a private image or something else you don’t want sticking around in a chat.
In a new app update this month, WhatsApp has closed a big loophole: blocking screenshots from being taken.
But it’s not entirely safe: your text could still be preserved.
A rogue chatter could simply use another device to take a photo or video of the screen.
There’s no way for WhatsApp to stop this.
As always, the best advice is to be very careful with what you share online.
If you don’t want something being on the internet or shared around, avoid sending it to anyone.
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Even people you trust now might not be so loyal in the future.
And someone might save an image and then end up being hacked themselves.
Blocking screenshots on disappearing messages adds a significant extra layer of security.
But you can’t rely entirely on it – so always be cautious with who you’re sending images, videos or even texts to.
If an image is extremely sensitive, consider showing the person in real life or finding a more secure way to get your message across.
Nevertheless, it’s still a good idea to use View Once where you can, as it’s better than leaving an image out in the open forever.
“View Once is already an incredibly popular way to share photos or media that don’t need to have a permanent digital record,” WhatsApp explained in a new blog post.
“Now we’re enabling screenshot blocking for View Once messages for an added layer of protection.”
The feature is currently in testing, and WhatsApp says it will “roll out soon”.
Keep checking for app updates in the coming weeks.
You can do this in the Apple App Store for iPhone or the Google Play Store on Android.
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
