Andrew Bonwick
Vice President of Product Development at Relm Insurance
Madhav Sheth
CEO of Ai+ Smartphone
Stephen Rose
CEO Render Networks


WhatsApp might soon introduce a new feature called ‘self-destructing photos’. This feature is said to enhance the privacy provided by the application. The social media giant has recently received a lot of heat for its new privacy policies. It is worth noting that a ‘self-destructing messages’ feature is already out for the users of the application. But the ‘self-destructing photos’ will take a note from the ‘Instagram Direct’ and make it a very time-sensitive feature.
WhatsApp Self-Destructing Photos, What to Expect?
A tweet from WABetaInfo suggests that the concept of the feature will be the same as of ‘Instagram Direct’. The new feature will work on both iOS and Android devices. The tweet said that ‘self-destructing photos’ can’t be exported to the device from WhatsApp.
However, the feature might be rolled out without ‘screenshot detection’ ability. Thus, even though the photo may be there for a fleeting moment, users can take screenshots and still be able to keep it on their devices.
A screenshot shared of the feature by WABetaInfo suggests that if the user leaves an ongoing chat on which the self-destructing photo was shared, he/she won’t be able to see it once they return.
WhatsApp is working on self-destructing photos in a future update for iOS and Android.
• Self-destructing photos cannot be exported from WhatsApp.
• WhatsApp didn’t implement a screenshot detection for self-destructing photos yet.Same concept from Instagram Direct. ? pic.twitter.com/LLsezVL2Hj
— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) March 3, 2021