When the "bigger" news for Meta's messaging apps from today - the roll out of end-to-end encryption in Messenger - hits the wires, the company is also introducing an additional useful feature to its users through WhatsApp: disappearing voice messages. This new feature will allow users to send a voice message that one can only listen to once before it disappears-a feature that is much similar to the "View Once" option for photos and videos introduced back in 2021.

Although the company mentions clearly that this feature could add security to your conversations, if you didn't wish to have the information traded recorded — like when planning that special surprise or sharing certain sensitive information with your friend or family member, for example, your credit card number for use only once.

They would be clearly labeled with a "one-time" icon so the recipient would know they could only play the message once before it disappeared. That way, they wouldn't try to play it at a place where they may not have good reception and would be set to write down anything the caller wants them to commit to memory. WhatsApp says that end-to-end encryption by default applies not only to the secret messages themselves but also to the "View Once" photos and videos.
The new look for WhatsApp comes on the heels of a series of privacy-focused overhauls Meta's social platforms have undergone since the company's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, spoke of the future in a speech in 2019. Here, the chief executive made promises around safety, private interactions, interoperability, encryption and more, though the company recently quietly rolled things back on one of these efforts as it said it would end cross-messaging across Instagram and Facebook, despite the EU's regulations via the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that requires large messaging apps to be interoperable.

But the company delivers on some of its encryption promises: encryption on WhatsApp chat backups since 2021 and, now at last, end-to-end encryption in Messenger rolls out.

WhatsApp voice messages now get a "View Once" feature the company is rolling out across the world over the next days, it says, meaning you might not see the option in your app right away but should soon.