In November 2020, WhatsApp introduced a feature to enhance privacy called “disappearing messages.” Initially, WhatsApp only had one option (messages disappearing after 7 days), but later expanded this feature to allow messages to disappear after 24 hours or 90 days.
Now, according to WABetaInfo, the company is working on an update to the “disappearing messages” feature that will allow messages to be viewed only once before disappearing, for both the sender and the recipient. The new feature is available in the latest beta version of WhatsApp for Android (version 2.22.25.20). After sending such a message, the recipient will not be able to share or forward the message. It’s worth noting that WhatsApp already has this feature for photos and videos (screenshotting the content is not allowed), and now it is being extended to text messages as well.
To enable the “disappearing messages” feature for text messages, tap on the contact’s name > tap on Disappearing Messages (if prompted, tap continue) > choose from the options: 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days.