WhatsApp Working on View-Once Text Messages for iPhone

[YourBoss]

Organized crime will love this new feature ✨

 

[SpotOnT]

Privacy and security.

Why those other things came to mind first for you and the fact that people are agreeing with you is concerning.

You do realize that screenshots, screen recording, and simply taking a photo of the device with the message are all options to keep a message long term, right...?

This type of feature would be very useful for iMessage, too.

If you care about privacy and security, why would you use WhatsApp? WhatsApp records and gives Meta/Facebook all your metadata (such as who you talk to and when). That is about as opposite as private and secure as you can get.

Wouldn’t you be better off using a secure app like Signal, and not worrying about deleting the message?

 

[jooish]

I don't use Whatsapp, but there are millions people that do who can't just expect everyone they communicate with to switch to another app.

This is just a hard fact that choosing to ignore goes against logic and reason.

Complaining about a feature that is coming to an app that you don't use and asserting the only purpose for such a feature must be for nefarious behavior is incredibly short-sighted and childish.

Privacy is a human right.

 

[jlc1978]

I don't use Whatsapp, but there are millions people that do who can't just expect everyone they communicate with to switch to another app.

This. I use WhatsApp because it is almost a European and ret of (non-US) world standard, and thus can call without any toll costs no matter where I am (although some places necessitate using a VPN). Interestingly, I suspect some of the areas it is blocked are not because of what may be said on it but to protect the local telecom monopoly's revenue streams.

 

[AppleWes]

Privacy is a human right.

Meta has full access to all of your data no matter how pretty or clear the "delete" screen looks in app.

 

[SpotOnT]

I don't use Whatsapp, but there are millions people that do who can't just expect everyone they communicate with to switch to another app.

This is just a hard fact that choosing to ignore goes against logic and reason.

Complaining about a feature that is coming to an app that you don't use and asserting the only purpose for such a feature must be for nefarious behavior is incredibly short-sighted and childish.

Privacy is a human right.

Sheeeeeshhhh your putting a lot of words into my mouth. There was no complaining, or asserting, etc. All I said was “What is the point…” As in I don’t get it. Maybe take a deep breath and relax. I am not your enemy here.

As for having no choice, but to use WhatsApp…I can’t agree with you there either. If someone cares about privacy and human rights, they aren’t using Facebook or WhatsApp. That is just a simple fact.

Be the change you want to see. It is amazing how many people will follow.

 

[iamasmith]

ALL Meta stuff is completely gone from my devices, being clueing up friends that have Android devices that RCS is available to avoid this rubbish - We'll possibly see the video profile more generally available over RCS soon too.

 

[sich]

Where are the promised parental controls? Has somebody seen this feature alive already?

 

[StanleyOmar]

Privacy and security.

Why those other things came to mind first for you and the fact that people are agreeing with you is concerning.

You do realize that screenshots, screen recording, and simply taking a photo of the device with the message are all options to keep a message long term, right...?

This type of feature would be very useful for iMessage, too.

He's not entirely wrong in his line of thinking. That privacy of "view once" messages can be used for both good and bad. Also, a lot of people who thought "view once" actually meant just that have found that, once a phone is in the hands of the police, at least some of those messages are recoverable.

 

[jooish]

Meta has full access to all of your data no matter how pretty or clear the "delete" screen looks in app.

I won't argue that, however... on-device privacy is still privacy.

 

[jooish]

Sheeeeeshhhh your putting a lot of words into my mouth. There was no complaining, or asserting, etc. All I said was “What is the point…” As in I don’t get it. Maybe take a deep breath and relax. I am not your enemy here.

As for having no choice, but to use WhatsApp…I can’t agree with you there either. If someone cares about privacy and human rights, they aren’t using Facebook or WhatsApp. That is just a simple fact.

Be the change you want to see. It is amazing how many people will follow.

Fairytale nonsense. This just isn't how the world works.

 

[icymountain]

Developers had a slow day, they needed to play with some AI model they heard about at the coffee machine, and we will lose some texts. All is well!

 

[jooish]

He's not entirely wrong in his line of thinking. That privacy of "view once" messages can be used for both good and bad. Also, a lot of people who thought "view once" actually meant just that have found that, once a phone is in the hands of the police, at least some of those messages are recoverable.

These are such Karen takes.

People need to stop looking for reasons of why a thing shouldn't be and instead rather look for reasons of why a thing should ...and go from there. In my opinion, those that do the former have a poorer mental health than the latter.

 

[StanleyOmar]

These are such Karen takes.

People need to stop looking for reasons of why a thing shouldn't be and instead rather look for reasons of why a thing should ...and go from there. In my opinion, those that do the former have a poorer mental health than the latter.

This was from real-world examples of politicians and their associates in major political scandals having been caught sending disappearing messages during the planning and commission of crimes. I didn't just pull that out of my behind, and I'd say it's pretty obvious that this would immediately be one way disappearing messages were used.

But as to your point about starting from 'why' rather than 'why not', while there are clearly some good uses for AI image-generation tools, everybody knew that they would also immediately be used by men and boys to harass women with sexually-explicit content, as we saw happen with Grok on twitter. Sometimes there are just far more compelling reasons you should not just blindly do something, assuming you care.

 

[jooish]

This was from real-world examples of politicians and their associates in major political scandals having being caught sending disappearing messages during the planning and commission of crimes. I didn't just pull that out of my behind, and I'd say it's pretty obvious that this would immediately be one way disappearing messages were used.

But as to your point about starting from 'why' rather than 'why not', while there are clearly some good uses for AI image-generation tools, everybody knew that they would also immediately be used by men and boys to harass women with sexually-explicit content, as we saw happen with Grok on twitter. Sometimes there are just far more compelling reasons you should not just blindly do something, assuming you care.

The exceptions don't make the rule.

People will always find ways to abuse something and limiting the privacy choices for millions due to the actions of a few seems wrong to me. You can apply this logic to practically everything.

 

[SpotOnT]

The exceptions don't make the rule.

People will always find ways to abuse something and limiting the privacy choices for millions due to the actions of a few seems wrong to me. You can apply this logic to practically everything.

What evidence do you have what the exception is?

People who care about privacy don’t use WhatsApp. People in oppressive regimes tend to use Telegram or Signal.

I wouldn’t be surprised if 99% of “view once” messages on WhatsApp are being sent by flirty, bully, or gossipy teens.

You really don’t have the data to claim what the exception is for WhatsApp users.

 

[jooish]

What evidence do you have what the exception is?

People who care about privacy don’t use WhatsApp. People in oppressive regimes tend to use Telegram or Signal.

I wouldn’t be surprised if 99% of “view once” messages on WhatsApp are being sent by flirty, bully, or gossipy teens.

You really don’t have the data to claim what the exception is for WhatsApp users.

What a load of contradictions 💩.

Lol.