WhatsApp rolled out Disappearing Messages all the way back in November of 2020, and the ability to let you keep them more recently. But ultimately, this feature only worked for text messages, so no such options exist for voice messages sent via the app. That may change in the near future, as it looks like the Meta subsidiary has begun testing just that.
As WABetaInfo reports, the latest beta version of WhatsApp has allowed some users to test a feature that renders voice notes impossible to be saved, forwarded or exported. You’ll have to enable the feature prior to recording said voice message, which sets it to “view once”. And once the recipient has listened to it, neither sender or recipient can listen to the voice note again.
While the process of activating it looks to be different compared to Disappearing Messages that WhatsApp rolled out before, the goal is likely the same – not allowing those with unauthorised access to either device to listen to the voice notes. That being the case, there are unique issues with disappearing voice notes that just isn’t present with texts.
Primarily, clarity of the recording and the noise level of the environment can be quite the problem for disappearing voice notes. As the voice text will disappear once dismissed, you don’t have the chance to, say, move to a quieter place first before listening to it again. While some people would definitely have the kind of top secret correspondence that requires this feature, the likelihood of being in noisy environments is probably higher.
At any rate, the report says that this feature will be rolled out to more WhatsApp beta users over the coming days. No word on when it will get a general release just yet. But when it does, there’s an equally likely chance that a feature allowing you to keep it from disappearing will crop up sometime down the line.
(Source: WABetaInfo)
