View Once on WhatsApp Isn’t As Secure As You Think

What Is View Once?

View Once is a privacy feature that lets you send photos or videos that can only be viewed one time. After the recipient opens it, the media disappears from the chat. It’s designed for sharing sensitive content—passwords, temporary access codes, or anything you don’t want lingering in chat history.

Sounds secure, right? Not exactly. Here are the ways people are bypassing it.

Method 1: The Email Export Trick

This is the easiest workaround, and it’s almost embarrassing how well it works:

1. Receive a View Once message – Don’t open it yet
2. Export the chat – Go to Chat Settings → Export Chat
3. Select “Attach Media” – Make sure media is included in the export
4. Send to your email – The View Once media will appear in your email attachment

Yep, that’s it. All View Once pictures will appear in your email. 😂

The catch? You have to export before opening the View Once message. Once you’ve viewed it, it’s gone from the chat and won’t be included in future exports.

Method 2: Airplane Mode Screenshot

This is the classic workaround that works on most disappearing message apps:

1. Turn on Airplane Mode – Disconnect from WiFi and mobile data
2. Open the View Once message – View the photo or video
3. Take a screenshot – Capture what you need
4. Force close WhatsApp – Don’t just switch apps, actually close it from recent apps
5. Wait a few minutes – Give it time before reconnecting
6. Turn off Airplane Mode – Reconnect to the internet

The idea is that WhatsApp can’t send the “message viewed” notification to the sender if you’re offline. By the time you reconnect, you’ve already screenshotted it and closed the app.

Does it work? Sometimes. WhatsApp has gotten better at detecting this, but it’s not foolproof.

Method 3: Screen Recording

For videos sent via View Once, screen recording is more effective than screenshots:

1. Enable screen recording – On iPhone: Control Center → Screen Recording. On Android: Quick Settings → Screen Recorder
2. Start recording
3. Open the View Once video
4. Stop recording – You now have a copy

WhatsApp doesn’t block screen recording (yet), so this works reliably. The quality might be slightly degraded, but you’ll have a copy of the content.

Method 4: Using Third-Party Apps (Android Only)

On Android, there are modified WhatsApp versions (like GB WhatsApp, WhatsApp Plus, etc.) that disable View Once restrictions entirely. These apps allow you to:

• Save View Once media automatically
• Screenshot without the sender knowing
• View deleted messages

Warning: Using modified WhatsApp versions violates WhatsApp’s Terms of Service and can get your account banned. They also pose security risks since they’re not official apps. Use at your own risk.

Method 5: Notification Preview (Sometimes)

Depending on your notification settings, you might see a preview of View Once images in your notification panel before opening the chat. If you have “Show Previews” enabled:

1. Receive the View Once message
2. Check your notification – Some phones show a thumbnail
3. Screenshot the notification – Before opening the chat

This doesn’t work for everyone and depends on your phone’s notification settings, but it’s worth checking.

Does WhatsApp Notify the Sender?

Here’s the important part: WhatsApp notifies senders when you take a screenshot of View Once media. If you screenshot directly within the chat, the sender gets a notification that says “Screenshot taken.”

However:

• The email export method doesn’t trigger any notification
• The airplane mode method may or may not notify (unreliable)
• Screen recording doesn’t trigger screenshot detection (as of now)
• Third-party apps can disable screenshot notifications entirely

Why Does This Matter?

If you’re sending something via View Once, don’t assume it’s truly gone after one view. The feature provides a sense of privacy, but determined recipients can save your content using the methods above.

The email export trick is particularly concerning because it’s built into WhatsApp’s own features and doesn’t trigger any warnings. Most people don’t even know it exists.

Bottom line: Don’t send anything via View Once that you wouldn’t want someone to keep. Treat it like any other message—once it’s sent, you’ve lost control over it.

What WhatsApp Could Do

To actually make View Once secure, WhatsApp would need to:

• Exclude View Once media from chat exports
• Block screen recording while viewing View Once content
• Detect airplane mode workarounds more reliably
• Improve screenshot detection across all devices

Until then, View Once is more of a convenience feature than a real security measure. Use it for temporary content, but don’t rely on it for anything truly sensitive.