Since it launched back in 2021, WhatsApp’s ‘View Once’ tool has become one of the most popular features on the app.
As the name suggests, View Once allows you to send sensitive photos that vanish after they’ve been seen – whether it’s a snap of your WiFi password or a saucy selfie.
If you use the tool, there’s bad news, as WhatsApp has uncovered a glitch.
Worryingly, that means any pictures you’ve sent with View Once could still be saved on the recipient’s phone.
The serious flaw was spotted by security researcher Ramsath who said that the loophole had the potential to create ‘trust issues’ for users.
In a blog post, he wrote: ‘During one of my security research sessions, I discovered a way to bypass the “View Once” feature.
‘This bypass allowed me to access the image even after it was meant to vanish into thin air.’
Thankfully, WhatsApp has released a fix – here’s how to install it on your device.
WhatsApp users have been warned to update their app as researchers spot a serious security flaw in a popular feature (stock image)
View Once is WhatsApp’s Snapchat-like feature, released back in 2021.
‘While taking photos or videos on our phones has become such a big part of our lives, not everything we share needs to become a permanent digital record,’ it explained at the time.
‘On many phones, simply taking a photo means it will take up space in your camera roll forever.
‘That’s why today we’re rolling out new View Once photos and videos that disappear from the chat after they’ve been opened, giving users even more control over their privacy.’
According to Ramsath, a simple security flaw means that images sent with View Once have not actually been disappearing.
After opening a view once file, it deletes itself from the app as normal so that users can’t open it directly.
However, opening the app’s settings, selecting ‘Storage and Data’, and clicking ‘Manage Storage’ shows that these images are still visible.
Ramsath says: ‘I located the sender’s chat, sorted the storage by “Newest,” and there it was — the “View Once” image, still accessible.’
A security researcher found that images sent on View Once are actually still visible through the app’s ‘Storage and Data’ settings. This means that private or sensitive information can still be accessed
This issue apparently only affects iPhone users and does not occur on Android devices.
Upon alerting Meta about the issue, Ramsath was told that the company was already aware of the issue, and working on a solution.
For anyone who has been sending sensitive or personal images via WhatsApp, this will obviously be a serious concern.
Thankfully, Meta has now released an update which includes a fix for this problem.
WhatsApp version 25.2.3 was released on January 29 and should ensure that all photos and videos sent with View Once are actually deleted.
However, Meta has not confirmed whether images and videos previously sent with View Once will still be visible.
In addition to these vital security changes, the update also includes some useful changes to group calls.
Users will now be able to select participants prior to starting a group call rather than adding them afterwards.
Additionally, the app will now allow users to add people they are chatting with to an ongoing call.
How to update WhatsApp
To make sure your images stay private, it’s important that you update WhatsApp to the latest version.
For most users, the app should automatically update when you are connected to Wi-Fi, but this is not always the case.
To see if you are updated to the most recent version on iPhone, open the App Store and head to the WhatsApp Messenger page.
If there is an update available you should see a blue ‘Update’ button at the top of the screen, simply tap this to begin the download.
If the button instead says ‘Open’ this means that you are fully up to date.
Alternatively, from the App Store home page open your Account by tapping your initials in the top-right corner of the screen.
To ensure your images are deleted, it is important that you install the latest version of WhatsApp as soon as possible (stock image)
Scrolling down, you should see a section marked ‘UPCOMING AUTOMATIC UPDATES’.
If there is a new version of WhatsApp available, you should see the option to select ‘update’ next to its icon here.
If the button instead says ‘Open’ this means that you are fully up to date.
Alternatively, from the App Store home page open your Account by tapping your initials in the top-right corner of the screen.
Scrolling down, you should see a section marked ‘UPCOMING AUTOMATIC UPDATES’.
If there is a new version of WhatsApp available, you should see the option to select ‘update’ next to its icon here.
